Never Too Late
by Phantom Listener 101
Summary: What happens when ghostly past mixes with gothic future. One strange story. But why did Danny and Tucker end up in the future in the first place?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so here we go with the first chapter though I have to admit that it's more like a prologue than anything else. Reviews are more than welcome, flames and constructive criticism included. Also, if you see any mistakes that you feel I should correct, feel free to point them out. Also I just want to say that this takes place after "Boxed Up Fury" though I think you should be able to figure that out yourselves. Lastly I just want to add that the it's going to be in Danny's POV and later it'll switch to Sam's and though I'm not planning on it, there might be a chapter in Tucker's POV in I feel it's necessary.**

**Wow that was a mouth full.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom and since that will never change, I'm not planning to repeat what I just said. **

Chapter 1: A Chase Through the Unknown

Danny blinked, shooting a nervous glance at the African American boy next to him who was currently mesmerized by the large swirling gap in front of them. The only thing Tucker had going for him was that he and Danny had been friends since kindergarten and he trusted Tucker with his life, any person with a status less than that wouldn't have been allowed into the room.

"Well, come on," Danny said as he slapped a roll of parchment against his leg in a nervous gesture. The room he was standing in existed mainly of metal and glass and it was currently bathed in an eerie green light that had made Danny's skin crawl the first time he'd laid eyes on it after the accident. Taking in a calming breath, Danny transformed into his alter ego. His black hair turned to a snowy white and the jeans and t-shirt he was wearing turned into a black and white jumpsuit on the front. His eyes turned from baby blue to a vivid and glowing green and the silvery white glow around him told people that he was a lot more than just human.

"No way dude, you're the one with the powers, you go first." Tucker said referring to what had just happened.

"It's not like it'll be the first time we're going there!" Danny objected.

"Still dude, considering we're not going in the Spector Speeder, I'll be risking my life just by going in there. Besides after what happened with the Box Ghost Wednesday I'm not so sure I want to be anywhere near that place ever again," Tucker reasoned as if he were explaining things to an incompetent ten-year-old. Danny glared at Tucker in frustration.

"Yeah, the Box Ghost turning evil was kinda weird," Danny agreed before remembering that he was supposed to be arguing with Tucker."Come on, Tuck," Danny tried again but Tucker simply folded his arms in a stubborn manner.

"Nu-uh," Tucker declared with a shake of his head.

_Some best friend,_ Danny thought as he took a single step towards the portal before freezing again. Tucker narrowed his eyes at Danny whose green eyes suddenly looked a lot more frightening. It made Tucker stress up so fast you would swear the entire world had suddenly decided to become vegetarians. But taking away something less severe could work as well. "Hey Tuck," Danny sang as he held up a shining silver object he'd just snatched from Tucker's pocket. Taking his beloved tech would definitely be enough.

"Not funny Danny. Now give it back," Tucker held out his hand with an angry frown on his face. Danny dangled the PDA in front of Tucker before shooting into the place he dreaded going into alone. Tucker leaped after him, desperately grabbing for his PDA but only getting hold of air. Tucker cried out in shock as he slipped through the gap and the ground disappeared under him. Danny grabbed the techie's wrist and steadied him before giving him time to adjust to being able to float like a ghost. "That was completely unnecessary!" Tucker accused as Danny handed him his PDA.

"Sorry Tuck, but it was the quickest way to get you in here." Danny said feeling only slightly guilty. The grim look on Tucker's face quickly disappeared to be replaced by amazement as he studied his surroundings. Everywhere you looked, a swirling acid green "atmosphere" surrounded you.

"Wow, every time we get here this place looks even weirder," Tucker said as he studied the strange buildings and doors that passed them as they went.

"It's the Ghost Zone Tucker, what did you expect," Danny finished as he and Tucker moved away from the portal through which they'd entered the ghost world. Danny came to an abrupt halt as a guy with blonde hair that came to his shoulders and an over coat that some people would have thought to be to old school, parked his motorbike in front of them, angling it so it that Danny and Tucker almost collided with him.

"You came to play?" Jonny asked in a bad boy manner which Danny found ridiculous.

"Not now Jonny," Danny grumbled at the pale nineteen-year-old as his grip on the rolled up parchment, tightened.

"I don't think so punk, you messed things up with my girl. And you're in my territory now!" Jonny said with a sneer. "Shadow, attack!" Jonny called stabbing a finger in Danny and Tucker's direction.

"Oh great," Danny said sarcastically. Grabbing Tucker, he took off, Jonny's shadow hot on the two teens' tail. They passed a floating red castle and a black and grey version of Casper High and, if his and Tucker's life hadn't been in danger he might've noticed the snow land that they flew past. To their absolute horror a ghost with an armed robot suit and a promise to have Danny's pelt at the foot of his bed, soon joined the chase.

"Oh great, now I've got Jonny and Skulker on my tail and we've only been here for a few minutes!" Danny complained as the chase through the Ghost Zone continued. "And…now were lost as well," Danny added a few minutes later when he suddenly realized that he hadn't seen the red castle or his school yet and that they were probably gone even deeper into the Ghost Zone past everything he knew.

"Dude, would you mind taking us home now." Tucker asked, his arm had gone numb from Danny's tight grip and he was starting to feel worried and airsick.

"I'm trying Tucker, but, if you haven't noticed, where kinda being followed by guys who wants to rip me apart!" Danny said, his voice raising an octave on the last six words. Even though Danny was ten times more powerful than when he'd first received his ghost abilities, it didn't help when it came to carrying his friend for about an hour straight and he was starting to feel the after affects of being chased by a crazy hunter and a vengeful teen and his bad luck shadow. An idea started forming in Danny's tired mind as he felt his arms starting to shake. He couldn't take much more of this.

"I've got an idea," Danny told Tucker, slowing down for a few seconds before making a U-turn and heading directly for Jonny. Before the biker had any time to react, Danny had sent him flying backwards off his bike with the help of an ecto-blast. "Hang on Tucker!" Danny called as he revved the bike before taking off at a high speed. He was surprised that he hadn't thought of it soon and even more surprised that Jonny had fallen for it again considering Dany had used the same tactic only two weeks previous.

Danny glanced over his shoulder, and was relieved to find that both his pursuers were lagging behind.

Without warning a sharp pain hitting the ghost boy's shoulder

"Danny, watch out!" Tucker exclaimed but it was too late and they went crashing through an old wooden door into what Danny thought was a fortress. He cried out as the dust, that had surrounded them, cleared and he had a view of a mirror for a few seconds before the speeding motorbike hit something and he and Tucker went flying forward…

**Review People, Please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I have to say that I'm pleased that people like my story. Thanks to fanatheinvader, twarne, VampireFrootloopsRule and DannywinxLover23 for adding my story to your list and Oak Leaf Ninja, VampireFrootloopsRule and avearia. I've tried to fix everything you pointed out to me but please point out if I wonder off of the characters and so on or if there are any mistakes. Thanks **

**Okay, here we go with the next chapter.**

Chapter 2: Confusion

Danny groaned, struggling to open his eyes. "What happened?" Danny muttered as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Ow!" he exclaimed in alarm, grabbing hold of his arm. Danny blinked as he realized that he'd returned to his human form (since he wasn't glowing anymore) and his arm was sore. "What's wrong with my arm?" Danny moaned as he struggled to his feet and narrowed his eyes in an effort to see what was going on, but all he could see was a dirt spot on his otherwise clean shirt. Danny had to bite back the stinging pain that accompanied the realization of being wounded.

"Dude, you could have warned me before you went crashing into anything," Tucker accused and Danny looked around to find a vague outline of his friend sitting a few feet away.

"Tucker, you okay?" Danny asked as he got up and started moving towards his friend.

"Yeah, and you?" the techie asked as Danny offered him his good hand and pulled him up.

"I'll live," Danny promised though his voice sounded grim.

"Um, dude, where are we?" Tucker asked, looking around, and, with a shock Danny realized he had no idea how to answer the question. Wherever they were, the place seemed to lack windows since it was impossibly dark.

"Time to find out," Danny declared as he took a step forward. Unfortunately the step only sent him crashing into something very solid and he ended up on the floor, his arm hurting even more than before. Danny frowned disapprovingly at the surrounding area. Still unable to see much of what was going on around him, Danny stumbled to his feet, drunk from the strain it caused him. _What's the matter with me? _he thought slightly annoyed but unable to summon the strength to stop his head from lolling around on his neck. Danny shook his head in an effort to clear it but instead he only succeeded in bringing on a headache.

"Danny, you sure you're okay?" Tucker asked, noticing the tiredness in his friend's voice.

"I-I think so," Danny said and he finally felt some energy returning to his drained body. "Let's try that again," he said and the glowing ring that signaled his transformation materialize for a few seconds before vanishing again without changing Danny's appearance like it should've.

Danny frowned, since when had he been so weak that he could change into his ghost form? "Looks like we're on our own for now," Danny said as he turned his attention back to Tucker's figure. "Help me," Danny ordered his friend's silhouette and a few minutes later they were feeling around the room for the light switch.

"Got it!" Tucker exclaimed and Danny blinked as his eyes adjusted to the bright light that now filled the room. "Danny, what happened?" Tucker sounded shocked and Danny immediately turned to face the African American with a confused look on his face. He was about to ask what his friend meant but instead he just followed Tucker's gaze and his own landed on his aching arm.

_Well, that explains the pain,_ Danny thought as he gazed at the long gash that adorned most of his arm, which was so soaked in blood that it looked like it belonged in a thriller or horror movie rather than on a living person's body. Even the hand he'd gripped his wounded arm with, was already coated and sticky with the red liquid and a trail of blood followed Danny around the room.

"You know Danny, you're life would be a lot easier if you kept the blood _inside_ your body," Tucker tried to joke but he looked about ready to faint. Sure he and Tucker had faced Skulker before and beaten him (no thanks to Tucker playing around with his PDA) but their fights didn't tend to turn out with Danny's arm handing limply next to him as if it was just barely attatched.

"Yeah, so I've been told," Danny responded a little slower than intended, managing to force out a weak laugh but Tucker just continued looking worried. With Tucker's help, Danny managed to pull off his shirt and press it against his arm. Danny only relaxed for a few seconds before he started studying his surroundings and found that they seemed to be in a very neat looking basement.

It was a black tiled room with plastered walls, cardboard boxes stacked against one of the four walls and one light that was stationed so it managed to light the entire room up with a white glow. Tucker had gone quiet to the point where Danny started feeling worried that his friend might have gone into shock, Tucker _never _stopped talking. "What's-" Tucker cut him off with a hand and Danny stared at his friend, straining his ears to listen for anything that wasn't supposed to be there. What was going on?

"We better keep as quiet as possible, we don't know if someone'll hear us and come to investigate," Tucker said at last, earning a quizzical look from Danny who had long since given up trying to figure out what his friend was doing.

Danny's eyes widened as he suddenly patted the the pockets of his jeans in a panicked state. "Tucker! Where is it, where's the Map of the Ghost Zone!" Danny asked, making an effort to keep his voice down as he looked around the room with worry. Tucker's eyes widened and he quickly started searching as well.

"I don't know man, maybe we left it in the Ghost Zone," Tucker suggested after a while of searching.

"Oh great, Frostbite's going to kill me…or at least be very mad," Danny muttered. Tucker shrugged, clearly not knowing what to say.

"Do you think you can faze us into the main area and keep us invisible long enough for me to disable the alarm?" Tucker asked with a thoughtful frown after a while of silence.

"Um, maybe but, isn't that breaking and entering?" Danny asked doubtfully.

"Nope, we're not breaking anything and we're already inside," Tucker said, his usual humor returning. Danny rolled his eyes at that. "You don't want to stay here forever do you?" Tucker demanded staring at Danny with an annoyed frown.

"Okay, fine," Danny grumbled before taking in a deep breath and praying for luck to be on his side. Danny was relieved when the silver rings of light appeared and actually did what they were suppose to; changing his clothes and turning his blood to green ectoplasm that pooled under his hasmat suit. Shoving his shirt at a disgusted Tucker, Danny grabbed his friend by the arm and slowly floated into the air, turning intangible before slipping through the floor into a neat main hall. Everything seemed to be white except for the massive plasma screen TV that was clearly visible from where they stood uh, floated.

"Can you get me over there." Tucker wanted to know, motioning to a small box on the wall. Groaning, Danny heaved his friend over to the alarm, usually he wouldn't have been bothered by the weight of his friend but today it seemed to strain every muscle in his body just to them invisible though maybe it had to do with the fact that he was keeping Tucker afloat with only one hand holding onto him.

"Are you done yet?" Danny panted after a couple of minutes.

"Hold on will yah, this system is way too advanced" Tucker muttered as he continued typing away on his PDA.

"You mean you can't disable it" Danny almost lost control of his powers then.

"Just gimme a minute" Tucker grunted as if he was the one carrying all the extra weight.

"Tucker!" Danny voice was urgent and he resisted the urge to shout at his friend. His arms were shaking uncontrollably and he could feel his grip on his friend slipping.

"Yes!" Tucker cried out victoriously and with a moan of relief Danny sank to the floor, immediately reverting back to normal. Danny lay on the floor feeling exhausted, his groans and moans muffled by the carpet. "Dude, you're bleeding on the white floor!" Tucker exclaimed and Danny felt the African American trying to worm his hand around his friend's waist. "Come on buddy, let's get you to a couch," Tucker grunted as he half dragged half led the bleeding teenager to the living room with the big screen TV. "Here." Tucker held out Danny's blood stain shirt before heading upstairs. Pressing his shirt against the wound once more, Danny glance out of the window and his heart nearly stopped. Somehow Danny could tell that they were still in Amity Park.

_But, how's that possible? _Danny's mind yelled at him. From where he sat, the town looked nothing like home: The buildings were gleaming with metal, glass and mirrors on every visible surface. Everything seemed slick and new, even the road seemed newly laid. If this had been Danny first time in the future he would've found it almost funny that there really were cars flying around. A few teenagers were moving around on airborne skateboards and scooters doing flips and ollies as if it was nothing to them.

"I don't think we're in plain old Amity Park anymore," Danny said when his friend returned with a medical bag in hand, only slightly cruious as to how Tucker had managed to obtain the bag. Tucker frowned as he sat down next to Danny and looked out of the window. Shock replaced the confusion and he blinked at his surroundings. Danny took the bag from his friend and opened it up. Unlike the outside world, the medical kit looked a lot like the ones he was used to. _Thank goodness there's still something normal around here, _Danny thought miserably as he unrolled a long piece of plaster and stuck the bandage across his wound.

"Um, Danny could it be that we ended up in Clockwork's fortress?" Tucker asked after a while.

Danny nodded, looking up at the techie.

"Crap!" Tucker muttered as he stared at a blue electronic device that resembled a touch pad but that turned out to be the local news paper. Danny choked on air when he saw the date displayed on the news paper. _Amity Times, 15 April 2111 _it read at the top. "That's a hundred years into the future, the earth isn't even supposed to exist anymore!" Tucker said, not nearly as dumbstruck as his friend.

"How's that even possible?" Danny muttered in disbelieve.

"Well, the atmosphere is becoming more polluted every day-" Tucker started in a wise voice.

"Not that," Danny grumbled as he stood up, feeling some of his strength returning to his body. "We better…" Danny trailed off as his eyes fell on a family photo off a father, mother and their two sons. "Um, we better get some new clothes," the raven haired teen told his friend.

"Why?" the techno-geek asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because we'll need to blend in until we can find a way back to our time and because my shirt and jeans are completely ruined," Danny explained as he started up the stairs. Half an hour later Danny and Tucker had their clothes put away in a backpack and were wearing new clothes they'd _borrowed _from the oldest son's room though they'd also grabbed two pairs of sweatpants and shirt along with two more changes of spare clothes. Danny had also made a stop in the bathroom to wash the blood of his hands and arm. It eased Danny's conscience that, even after their shopping spree, it was impossible to notice the vanished clothes considering how much clothes were squished into the overflowing walk in closet.

Tucker decided to wear khaki trousers, a black shirt, yellow hoodie, red cap and boots, insisting that, if he could, he would stay in the colors he was used to, though he decided to wear his cap to the front. Danny on the other hand, ended up in washed out jeans, a red shirt, white stand collar jacket and a pair of white sneakers. They'd also taken some money even though it had taken Tucker a while to convince Danny that it was for the best. Throwing the backpack over his shoulder, Tucker led the way back downstairs. "We better get going," Danny said as he changed into his ghost form. Tucker cried out as the teen half ghost took off and flew through the roof into the strange outside world. As they traveled higher into the air, Danny started looking around for a place where they could hide out for a while.

"What about that place?" Tucker suggested pointing at an old building with the words: "Due for Demolition in a week" on it. Danny nodded once before shooting down to the old building that looked like it had once been a large house. Danny fazed them through the roof and second floor before landing in a hallway that still had a dusty table placed next to the front door.

"Why would all the furniture still be here?" Danny asked with a frown.

"No clue but I'm not complaining," Tucker said as he sank onto one of the couches that was located in the living room. Unfortunately the couch seemed to be older than it look since one of the legs snapped off the second the African American placed his full weight on it. "Ah nuts!" Tucker complained as he stood up and surveyed the damage he'd caused. Danny threw the sweatpants and t-shirt at Tucker before pulling on his own make-shift pajamas. "This stinks," Tucker informed Danny as he folded his arms and stared accusingly at his surroundings. Rolling his eyes, Danny started exploring the floor they were on, afraid that the second storey floor would cave in if he tried to walk around on it.

"Tuck?" Danny asked when he returned to the living room, only to find Tucker passed out on the couch he'd destroyed. _Well, at least someone'll get some sleep,_ the half ghost thought as he turned and went to the spare room he'd discovered. He pulled out his bloody clothes and stuffed his new ones into the bag along with Tucker's. Danny hit the dust out of the mattress before lying down and staring at the ceiling. Even though his body and mind was more tired than he'd ever felt in his entire life, Danny knew he wouldn't be able to go to sleep.

_What will mom and dad think when I'm still missing tomorrow? _Danny thought dejectedly, a lump forming in his throat. _The police'll declare us dead if we don't return in a month and if this is the future then that means we've probably been declared dead for a century_. He remembered what Clockwork had told him once that, if someone was stuck in the wrong time period for more than a day, then the time stream would be affected. And now the only way home had been left in the Ghost Zone. Realizing this, Danny could feel tears coming up behind his eyes. "Focus! Feeling sorry for yourself won't help!" he told himself as firmly as possible. "Okay, so if we can't find a way back home by tomorrow then it won't matter how long we take to find a way home. As long as we manage to stay alive, we'll be able to go back home someday," Danny gritted his teeth against the helplessness and annoyance he felt. _But if we stay to long then mom and dad'll notice the age difference when he go back, _his mind snapped at him. Danny gripped his pounding head and closed his eyes as if that would somehow make the headache disappear.

A headache, throbbing arm and busy mind, made it impossible to get sleep and Danny immerged from the room the next day feeling even worse than he had the day before.

**Was Danny's character okay, I'm a bit stressed out about him but I really tried my best.**

**Remember to review cause it's awesome to get feedback!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hay guys, well I hope you enjoy this chapter and so on. I'll try and update my "Reading Percy Jackson" story tomorrow so don't be mad at me that I'm only updating one of my stories. Thanks to VampireFrootloopsRule and Oak Leaf Ninja for reviewing and thanks to Gerdark, cherry4815162342 and twarne for adding my sorry to your list. Once again, a new character for the series will be introduced in this chapter and the next and I'd really like to know your opinion about my accuracy of it all. **

Chapter 3: Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

"Danny, you sure you're okay?" Tucker asked. They'd left their hideout a while ago and headed into the city to try and find somewhere where they could sit and eat while thinking things through. Though the abandoned house was a good, if rather dusty, place to stay for the night, it wasn't pleasant to stay in during the strange hours of day.

Danny shuddered, shoving his hands into his pockets and biting down hard to stop his teeth from chattering. The weather truly was a confusing matter; it was an oven inside the deserted house but the second you stepped outside, the cold bit into you like an icy monster eager for revenge on those who were still warm and cozy inside their houses. Danny felt thankful that he had thought to take the two jackets along with the rest of the clothes he'd nabbed.

"Fine," Danny said, sounding everything but. The events from the previous night and the guilt that had haunted him ever since they'd discovered they were trapped here, had kept him awake and exhausted him. The loss of blood along with the headache and the lack of food and water hadn't helped either. Tucker shrugged off his friend's refusal to talk about anything, and turned his attention on more pressing matters.

"So, where'd you say you put the money you took from that kid?" he asked cautiously.

"I didn't, and it's right here," Danny said, a hand going to his jean pocket as if to check that his best friend hadn't pinched it.

"Come on dude, we have to eat," Tucker moaned as Danny waved the money in front of his friend before pocketing it again.

"Not a chance Tuck, we need to keep this in case of an emergency," Danny said as he continued walking through the gleaming, unreal, main street. Teens of their age, older and younger, were zooming by on their hover boards and scooters, regarding the two lost kids as if they somehow knew they didn't belong here.

"Dude, you think Vlad's behind this?" the African American said suddenly, cringing as he brought up the subject he knew Danny hated more than anything else in all dimensions. If there was one person who could work Danny up in a matter of seconds, it was Vlad Masters.

"No, Tucker, I don't thing it was Vlad!" Danny snapped, his hands curling into fists at the thought of his archenemy.

"I'm just making a suggestion," Tucker said defensively.

"Besides, if he knew how to time travel we would have suffered under his rein a long time ago, remember when he tried to take over Rome," Danny said dismissively, shoving his hands into his pockets as he glared at the pavement. Danny was just about to make another remark when something slammed into him. The next thing he knew he was sitting on the sidewalk staring up at a girl. He glared at her but because of the hood, cap and sunglasses, he couldn't see much.

"Do you mind?" she exclaimed before rushing past them. Danny glared up at Tucker as if it was he's fault that the girl had knocked him off his feet.

"What's the matter with her?" Danny muttered as he pushed himself to his feet feeling annoyed. _What gives her the right to act as if I'm not allowed to walk here?_ Danny thought as he glanced over his shoulder, but the girl had already disappeared. Then the answer hit him like a lightning bolt, freezing him in place. He choked on air as he studied his hand with distaste and anger. What if the girl hadn't seen him because he _hadn't _been there? "Tucker, was I invisible?" the ghost boy was almost too afraid to ask. His friend seemed surprised by the sudden urgency in his voice.

"Dunno, why?" Tucker asked in a careless manner.

"I think she might've seen," Danny admitted in a nervous voice. Danny didn't often 0lose control over his powers anymore but it still happened once in a while when he was bored or upset either that or his powers had been affected by the time travelling, though that seemed unlikely.

"The girl who just threw you off your feet, nah," Tucker said rubbing in the fact that a girl had actually managed to knock Danny off his feet.

"Are you-" Danny trailed of as he turned around to look at the techie and found the colored boy eating an apple. "Tucker, where'd you get that?" Danny was worried, his friend wasn't really capable of being sneaky. Tucker threw a thumb over his shoulder and dread swept over Danny as he followed the thumb. Standing there looking furious, was a big fat man with a red face. Danny groaned as he pulled out the wad of cash. Two bruises and fifteen dollars later Danny and Tucker were finally allowed to leave. "What's the matter with you!" Danny demanded the second they were out of earshot from the fruit and vegetable salesman.

"Sorry man, but I told you I was hungry, and it was _one _apple," Tucker shrugged as he threw away the core. Danny stared disbelievingly at him, how could someone be so desperate? They turned into an alley and Danny sat down taking in one deep breath after the other as he tried to calm himself. The half ghost sat with his head between his knees and his hands pushing his hair into odd angles as he tried to think.

"Tucker…" he said after a long time, finally having made a decision. "…we have to find jobs," he told Tucker even though he knew there was probably a one in a million chance that his friend would agree to it.

"Oh no, no Danny there's no way!" he said, absolutely horrified by the thought.

_I should have known,_ Danny thought with a deep and aggravated sigh. "We have to Tucker," Danny murmured as he ran his fingers through his hair. There was a long time's silence as Danny continued to stare at the floor. How could life become so complicated so fast, Danny wondered, his throat feeling thick.

"I suppose we could," Tucker stated in a tired voice. Danny felt his tension lessening as he looked up at his friend. Though he could see that the smile on Tucker's face was force, he was grateful for it. Tucker's optimism was one of the things he had truly come to appreciate in the past year that he'd struggled with his ghost powers.

"Thanks Tuck," relief relaxed Danny's stiff figure as he stared at his friend. "You ready for this?" he asked struggling to his feet and grinning at the thought of his friend actually asking for a job.

"Of course," he said and he led the way out of the alley faking a march as he did so. Danny continued to grin as he trudged after the techie, slouching in an effort to look inconspicuous and because he was used to it. "Um, Danny, you might want to take a look at this!" Tucker called suddenly. He was standing at a _newspaper _stand that was selling newly undated papers. Tucker showed Danny the _newspaper _when he was close enough to see the front page.

"Wow, new sure spreads fast," Danny joked with a nervous laugh as he stared at the headline: _Local Politician Robbed! _"Wait, we robbed a politician?" Danny barely managed to restrain himself from screaming as the rest of the news in the article seeped into his mind.

"Calm down, nobody knows," Tucker whispered. Ignoring this comment, Danny read the article with a twisted knot in his stomach.

_At half past five this morning Roger Connors and his family discovered blood in the middle of their hall that led to the living room. One of the robbers appeared to have been seriously injured and a blood sample has been sent to the police labs and we still await the results. Police are still puzzling over how two people could have entered the house long enough to switch off the alarm without being caught by it. The strangeness extends as the police discover that nothing more than money was stolen. We caution you to be on the look out for anyone suspicious and ask you to notify the police if you have information on these criminals._

Danny blinked as he finished reading the article, this was news to them? It was a normal robbery and it was news! Tucker seemed just as stunned. Was there really that little going on in this town? "It's good to know the city is crime-free" Danny managed in a husky voice. "Yeah, and they didn't even realize there was clothes missing, how rich can you get," Tucker agreed. If a normal robbery was news, that probably meant that the ghost attacks had stopped as well and, though Danny couldn't understand it, he felt disappointed when he realized this.

"HA!" Tucker's voice yanked him back to earth and he blinked at Tucker as if he'd just fallen from the sky. "I've found us jobs," Tucker announced looking proud of himself.

"What is it?" Danny asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Maids," Tucker said with a slightly mischievous smile.

"You got to be kidding!" Danny said backing away as if his life was in danger.

"Dude, look at this price," Tucker said with a gleam in his eyes as he shoved the newspaper into Danny's face. Danny frowned disapprovingly as he grabbed the newspaper and stared at it once again. His mouth almost dropped open when he saw the amount of money the paper was offering someone to be maids.

"Okay, but only because I'm desperate," Danny said as he handed the newspaper back to Tucker who input the phone number and address into his PDA.

"Great! Let's go get us a job!" Tucker sang as he took the lead once again. They found an address book and, half an hour later they were standing in front of a house, as still as statues.

"Is this a joke?" Danny half choked, half whispered. The way luck would have it, the two teens had ended up at the very same house they'd escaped from the night before.

"Remember, we're desperate," Tucker said in a high pitch voice as he rang the doorbell. _Not that desperate, _Danny thought anxiously but didn't say it out loud. A few minutes later the same woman from the picture, opened the door and, though she was just as beautiful as she'd been in the photo, she looked a lot more exhausted.

"Hello?" she said in a slightly curious voice.

"Good morning ma'am," Danny started rather reluctantly.

"Look, I know you're probably looking for Zack but he's not here at the moment," her voice hardened as she said this.

"You misunderstand us ma'am," Tucker said in a voice that signaled the start of his bad flirting technique.

"We're here to ask about the…um… maid jobs," Danny cut in blushing and clearing his throat as he finished the last part of the embarrassing sentence. The woman's eyes and face went blank. Danny couldn't blame her, in fact Danny was willing to bet that she didn't usually have boys showing up on her doorstep asking to be maids. Then her eyes brightened.

"Of course! Why didn't I think about this before?" she cried out looking pleased. Danny shot Tucker a worried glance, suddenly doubting the woman's sanity. "Come in," she said eagerly. "The thing is, we've had ten maids in the past three weeks but Zack and Luke drive them away to fast, maybe being their age'll assure your survival," the woman explained enthusiastically, leading them into the same living room they'd been in the night before, as she explained her situation. Danny warily eyed the dried blood on the floor and couch feeling a pang of guilt for bringing all of this onto the family. "You'll have to excuse this mess, but I'm not allowed to remove anything until the police give me the okay and I have no idea how I'm going to clean the blood of the furniture," their employer explained in a nervous voice, gesturing towards the ruined furniture. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Maria Connors, and you are?" she inquired.

"I'm Danny, and this is Tucker," Danny said, struggling to figure out if it was safe to mention his surname. Luckily though, a name seemed to be enough and Maria smiled once again.

"Wonderful, now, sorry for rushing this but it's been a bit hectic around here. That's why the boys left, they said they couldn't handle all the policemen and questions," Maria babbled on, her stress showing more with every passing second. "Don't you boys have to go to school to?" the question was so random that Danny found himself at a loss for words.

"Actually, we're not from around here. We got onto the wrong plane and now we're stranded here until our parents come to get us. I'm not even sure where we're supposed to stay until they come. We don't really have money for anything so we have to work," Tucker said and Danny resisted the urge to roll his eyes at how thick his friend was laying the story.

"That's horrible!" Maria exclaimed looking extremely shocked. "I suppose you can stay here while you wait for your parents and I'll give you a two week trial period, starting tomorrow but then you'll have to settle for working for free considering that I'll be sponsoring your beds and your food," she stated, and the two boys stared at her in shocked silence. Recovering themselves, they quickly nodded their agreement feeling luckier than they had in a long time.

"Thank you Mrs. Connors, you won't regret it," Danny and Tucker said in unison, causing Danny to flinch. The whole thing suddenly seemed too rehearsed to him though, fortunately, Mrs. Connors didn't seem to think so and she just smiled and gave an absentminded nod.

"Now you have to excuse me, the police will be calling 'round in a while and I still need to get dressed for a luncheon," the frown on Mrs. Connors' face betrayed her sudden worry over all the things she still had to do. She led her new maids to the front door silently going over a check list in her head.

"Thank you for the chance, see you later Mrs. Connors, we just have to go and collect our bags," Tucker told the woman in a pleasant voice before he and Danny passed over the threshold and disappeared around a corner.

**Okay, I know it wasn't the most exciting chapter but it was definitely necessary. Review and I'll be updating the moment I have three new reviews, which I think is a pretty good deal. Well, I'll try and update the moment I get three reviews except if I'm asleep when it happens considering I'm South African.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to twarne, VampireFrootloopsRule and Oak Leaf Ninja for the reviews you were the reason that I updated so I hope you like what your read. Okay, here's the next chapter!**

Chapter 4: All about ME!

Danny sighed as he crossed the threshold to his crumbling new home.

"Here," he grumbled as he threw some clothing at Tucker, who was lying on the couch taping away on his PDA. He hated it. He felt sick to his stomach just thinking about the fact that he had suddenly become a thief. No matter how many times he tried to reason that it was for their survival and that he was stealing from people who had more than enough, the guilt wouldn't go away. "Find anything?" Danny asked, forcing the thoughts out of his mind and turning it onto the fact that they were currently lost in time. At least it'll go better now.

"No clue, dude," Tucker said with a shrug. "There's no information on a time portal being built so I'm still not sure why we ended up here," Tucker said, his fingers still moving at lightening speed, across his PDA. Danny felt suddenly silly as realization hit him.

"That's because there is no time portal, the Ghost Zone somehow sent us here" Danny said and, as the words formed on his lips, he knew they were true.

"Are you sure man? I mean-" Tucker said hesitantly looking up from his PDA.

"I'm sure Tuck, it's happened before, remember!" Danny cut in, in a flat tone of voice.

"Calm down man, I'm just asking," Tucker said, raising his hands defensively.

"I know Tuck, it just, I feel so angry and helpless," Danny murmured as he sank onto a chair opposite his friend. Danny combed his fingers halfway through his already untidy hair. He missed his parents and… and Jazz, she would know what to do. "What are we going to do Tucker. We need to get back to the Ghost Zone, and from the sound of it, there hasn't been an entrance portal to the Ghost Zone in a long time," Danny said not taking his unfocused eyes of his shoes.

"Got it!" Tucker exclaimed, forcing Danny to look up at his friend whose triumphant smile was faltering.

"What is it?" Danny asked as he wandered over to his friend and leaned over his shoulder to stare at the PDA that was now displaying a map. Now Danny was really confused. "Um, Tucker, you do realize that it's just a map, right?" Danny said with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course," the techno geek said looking slightly offended. Danny still didn't get it. Upon seeing his friend's expression, Tucker grinned and stood up. "Follow me my pupil," Tucker said as he marched out of the house. Danny didn't like being called a pupil but, deciding against telling him off for it, sighed, stood up and followed the African American out of the house and down the road.

"Mind telling me where we're going?" Danny asked as he once again shoved his hands into his pocket and slouched to make his body look smaller.

"Internet Café," Tucker explained with an eager and mischievous glint in his eye.

"Are you kidding me? We're in the middle of a crisis and you want to go to an internet café, now?" Danny said sarcasm and disbelief leaking into his voice.

"No, if it was for personal use I would've used my PDA," Tucker said looking both insulted and shocked by this. The confusion returned to Danny's face and Tucker sighed. "Just wait and see, dude," Tucker said in a resigned voice. They walked in silence the rest of the way to the store. Ten minutes later they were sitting next to each other as Tucker's fingers went flying over the while keyboard. The computer they were seated at looked like an extremely advanced model of an Apple but Tucker seemed to know it as if it was one of the computers they had back at home. "Did some research, this baby's as good as it gets and can practically hack into the most secure banks in the world, if it's managed correctly," Tucker said.

_Meaning if he uses it, _Danny thought with a roll of his eyes. Then something else struck him. "Tucker! You're not thinking of-" Danny said in a suspicious and incredulous voice.

"No man, we're just using her to get access to good internet," Tucker said, his eyes widening when he caught on to what his friend was implying. Danny breathed a sigh of relief and turned his attention back to the computer where Tucker had selected the "Search" icon. The links to a hundred websites popped up. "Ah, good old reliable technology," Tucker said taking in a deep breath as if to breath in the technology that surrounded him. Danny suddenly noticed what Tucker had typed into the search block.

It was only one word but it sent Danny's mind into a spiral: "Fenton". Danny's mouth dropped open at the amount of websites that held information about the word Fenton, but the thing that truly surprised him was the fact that the name Daniel Fenton, was connected to the first link.

"T-Tucker," Danny managed in a strangled voice.

"I hear you buddy," Tucker said as he moved the cursor and opened the webpage. It seemed to be a news report of some kind:

_Daniel 'Danny' Fenton and his friend Tucker Foley, were reported missing today. Apparently the two teens were last seen in Maddie and Jack Fenton's lab a day ago. Authorities are still speculating over the reason for the two teens' disappearance. Jack Fenton had this to say: "It's those darn ghosts, but we'll get Danny back no matter what!" A search is out for these two 16-year-olds and the parents and relatives have been warned to expect the worst. Anyone with information can dial this number…_

There were some contact details, the date, the name of the newspaper and two photos of Tucker and Danny which Tucker quickly erased from the website's memory along with any other pictures that could be found under their names.

"So, tell me again why we're here, except to find out that we were famous for a while because we went missing?" Danny asked as Tucker scrolled down the list of links.

"Bingo!" Tucker said as a grin spread across his face. The link Tucker had opened seemed to be about Danny's parents. Danny and Tucker stared in stunned silence at the picture displayed on the website. It was definitely FentonWorks, but, it seemed new somehow.

_Oh great now my home's been affected as well,_ Danny thought miserably but the worst was still to come.

_FentonWorks was originally the home of the Fenton family and is now owned by Jasmine 'Jazz' Fenton's grandchildren. Jasmine Fenton declared FentonWorks as a historical sight, two years after her parents were presumed dead. Jack and Madeline 'Maddie' Fenton were dragged into the Ghost world after stopping a ghost takeover of earth and since then their inventions have hit the spotlight. Daniel Statford, the current owner of FentonWorks, and his wife Clair are enjoying there lives with only one child out of three, still needing to graduate. Daniel Statford says that he is intrigued by the work his great grandparents were doing and therefore feels honored to own FentonWorks as a reminder of what they tried to do. "I myself am a scientist and I'm looking forward to retiring." He adds that, he has started researching the possibilities of the existence of ghosts. "If aliens can exist, why not ghosts?" he reasoned. _

The article continued but Danny didn't read it, he and Tucker were staring at the photo below the article. A man was standing next to a pregnant woman and both had their hands on a boy and girl's shoulders. They seemed to be the perfect family. There was something familiar about the man's face, and Danny only realized when he stared into the man's eyes. Those eyes, those were his, this man not only had his name but his eyes as well? Danny cried out as his seat fell over, sending him to the floor.

"You okay man?" Tucker asked as he peered down at his friend.

"Yeah, but that's enough information for today," Danny said as he got shakily to his feet, the wonder over why Tucker had led him there, forgotten.

"Hold on," Tucker said as he moved the cursor around again before putting something into his PDA after that they left, making sure to the history of the sites being visited was deleted. The walk back to the house was quiet as each boy thought about what they had learned.

"Ah, there you are, I was starting to wonder what had become of you," Mrs. Connors smiled when she opened the front door and saw Danny and Tucker standing there with their backpack swung of Tucker's shoulder.

"Um, we were just getting to know the area," Danny said, trying his best not to sound hesitant about it.

"Well do come in, I'll introduce you," she told them as she stepped aside to allow them to pass. "This is my youngest son Luke and his older brother Zack" Mrs. Connors stated, first pointing to a pure blonde guy with green eyes who seemed to be twelve-years-old before pointing to a brown haired guy who also had green eyes and seemed to be their age.

"Um, how old are you again?" this question was directed towards Tucker and Danny.

"Um, we're fifteen," Danny and Tucker said in unison, uncertainty clear in their voices.

"Oh, so you're second year in high school, well Zack sixteen so I'm sure you'll get along swishingly" Mrs. Connors stated, causing Danny and Tucker to raise an eyebrow at each other.

_Swishingly_? Really?

"So, I fixed you up in the guest bedroom," she told them as they made their way up the stairs and into a white bedroom. Mrs. Connors frowned for a second as if debating something, before she grabbed a remote and pressed a button that caused the queen-sized bed to split into two separate beds. They slid further away from each other until they were both pressed against two opposite walls. "That's better," she murmured though it sounded more as if she was addressing herself rather than the two teens behind her. "Okay, well, dinner is at eight so until then you're welcome to explore the house a bit, I'm sure Zack wouldn't mind if you watched TV with him and Luke," Mrs. Connors said before leaving the two friends by themselves to discuss their new foundings and situation.

Danny and Tucker woke up around 07:00 the next day and were left to enjoy breakfast before they got ready for the day's work ahead.

"Okay, well there's leftover hotdogs in the fridge for lunch and here's a list of the things you have to do, I would go over it with you but I'm afraid I have an appointment. If you have any questions, my number's on the fridge along with all the usual emergency numbers. Here's some money and a list of things I need you to get from the shop, oh, and I need one of you to clean the pool some time before Thursday we're having a party that and I need this place to shine," she said as she handed Danny some cash and checked her reflection in a handheld mirror before leaving.

"No way dude," Tucker complained as he stared at the list of things they had to do.

"Come on Tuck, it's not that bad," Danny tried to reason in a tired voice. He hadn't got much sleep last night, the entire time dreaming about Daniel Statford and Jazz and the unknown husband she'd married, at least his arm hadn't given him any trouble since the large cut had all but disappeared already.

"Are you joking? I bet you even Cinderella didn't have these many chores," Tucker said looking sour.

"Who's Cinderella?" a voice asked behind them and they spun around. The tall 16-year-old with brown hair and green eyes was leaning against a door frame. He smirked at their surprised faces and walked forward.

"So you're the new maids? Pathetic," Danny's confusion turned to a glare of instant dislike at that and he had to force his eyes to stay blue. It instantly became clear that Zack had only pretended to be nice to them in front of his mother. "Well, don't just stand around, you have a job to do," Zack said, clearly enjoying every second of this.

"Danny don't do anything," Tucker hissed under his breath, knowing how hot-tempered his friend could be. Taking deep breaths through his clenched teeth, Danny grabbed the smaller list, spun on his heels and headed for the door. "Danny wait!" Tucker exclaimed but it was too late, Danny had already left. Danny wished he wasn't in this situation. If it hadn't been for the ghost portal, he and Tucker would still be at home, sure he wouldn't have his powers, but he could have lived with that. Danny entered a shop and took his time with getting everything, knowing that he'd left his friend at the mercy of the older teenager but struggling to convince himself to go back.

When Danny went back to the house, he put the food away and found Tucker in the room right next to the kitchen. He seemed to be struggling under the weight of the laundry. Danny watched as the large pile he was holding started to topple.

"Jeez Tuck, rob a mall," Danny said with a humorless chuckle when he noticed the irony of the sentence.

"Ha-ha very funny," Tucker said as he struggled to keep the mountain of clothes from falling over. "Need I remind you that I'm the only way you're going to stay alive in this technology based world," Tucker said as he glared at Danny. Danny chuckled as he took half of the pile from his friend's hand and placed it neatly on the floor. "Okay, now to sort the whites from the rest," Tucker mused to himself and Danny blinked at his friend. "What, I did laundry for my mom a few times," Tucker said defensively. Danny rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to his new job.

"So, where's that list," Danny asked as he started scanning the immediate area for the piece of paper. Tucker pointed over his shoulder and Danny picked up the list of chores they had to do. "I guess I'll have to start with the windows," Danny sighed as he started hunting for a bucket, soap and a cloth. Danny poured some water into the bucket, added the soap and dropped the cloth inside.

With a sigh, Danny lifted the bucket and started carrying it towards the first set of windows. He froze for a few seconds when he saw Zack leading a girl into the living room, both their backs turned to him. Danny pushed his anger aside and continued walking, hating the fact that he would have to work with Zack and his (probably annoying) girlfriend, present. With a resigned sigh Danny twisted some of the water out of the dishcloth and faced the large windows that looked out to the front lawn and road.

"Oh yeah, I probably should introduce you to our new maid," Danny could hear the laughter in the older guy's voice and his grip on the dishcloth tightened. "Maid, this is Sam and Sam this is… oh yeah, I didn't get your name," the guy snickered, causing Danny to clench his fist because of the lie Zack had just told. He was definitely out to humiliate Danny. Danny slowly turned around, trying his best to keep his annoyance and anger from showing on his face. The girl he'd referred to was rather pretty with short black hair and strange violet eyes though there seemed to be a strange fire in them.

"You!" she hissed before Danny had time to introduce himself.

**Okay, so I seriously can't wait to hear what you thought of this chapter and I hope you'll be willing to review and tell me, thanks.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry that I'm leaving you with this chapter for the next four or so days but I hope it's at least satisfying and at least I'll have updated before next Tuesday even though I know it sounds like a long time away. Lastly, thanks to twarne, DannywinxLover23 and Chad's Shortstack for review and in reply to DannywinxLover23, no, that isn't Sam's kid but you'll just have to figure out how it all fits together. **

**:-)**

Chapter 5: Curiouser and Curiouser

Sam Manson did not believe in luck, she did however believe in karma and fate, and right now, the Fates were playing a really cruel prank on her. What else would explain why, out of all the people in the city, the Connors' new maid had to be the one person she'd accidently bumped into while she'd been trying to get away from the police.

The police had caught up with her only ten minutes later and had forced her to go back to her parents, sure it hadn't been one of her best attempts to get away from her mom and all her scary pink dresses, but that was totally beside the point. In fact, Sam was convinced that if she hadn't bumped into the boy currently standing in front her, she would have succeeded in making it all the way to the airport, but no, the fates had to be merciless.

It was clear, as she glared at him, that the boy had absolutely no idea what he had done wrong, but that didn't lessen the hatred Sam had towards him. For all she knew, he had been the one to turn her in and just didn't realize that he was staring at the girl his actions had doomed.

The guy continued to stare at her, his baby blue eyes calculating and his raven black hair that fell into his eyes made him looked almost mysterious even though his emotions were being clearly communicated through his unnaturally clear eyes. Said eyes brightened as if the guy had come to a sudden realization and Sam felt her hatred being replaced by curiosity.

"You're that girl I bumped into yesterday, aren't you," it was more of a statement rather than a question and it surprised Sam that the guy had been able to recognize her at all. "Your voice sounds familiar," he continued, clearly taking Sam's silence as a sign that she didn't know what he was talking about.

"Hey, shut up and get to work!" Zack hissed while Sam just stared, her interest growing.

"You're the one who wanted me to introduce myself," the guy said and Sam was forced to hide a smile.

"Your name doesn't matter, just get back to work," Zack sneered as he stood up defensively, causing Sam to frown in disapproval. She hated the way he was acting.

"I beg to differ. The names Danny and I'm not your servant considering it's your _mom_ who's paying for my food and not you," the boy glared at Zack before stalking off in the kitchen's direction. Sam looked away to hide thee smile that was now threatening to give her away. She had to admit that the new kid had guts since most people were normally too scared to chew Zack out the way he had just done and Sam had to admit that it was entertaining to watch. Maybe the new guy wasn't so bad after all and maybe today would turn out to be fun, well to an extent.

"Stupid, son of a-" Sam was pulled out of her thought by Zack muttering curses under his breath as he paced. Well obviously he wasn't talking quietly enough since she could hear every insult he was sending Danny's way. Sam glared at him and he stopped, though he looked like his thoughts were still pretty violent. "What does he mean by: "You're that girl I bumped into yesterday, aren't you"?" Zack questioned so suddenly that, for a moment, all Sam could do was blink at him. Comprehension seemed to dawn on him even before Sam had time to respond. "He saw you yesterday while you were trying to run away?" the disbelief and disapproval was clear in his voice and he shot daggers at her as he waited for a reply.

"Maybe," she told him, unfazed by his fierce glare.

"Nice going genius!"

"You have-"

"Do you want to dishonor our families? Every time you run away you give you and your family and not to mention my parents, a bad name" he spat at her. Sam's indifference was replaced by rage as she shot up off the couch and stalked towards the 16-year-old.

"Since when are you worried about dishonoring our families, heck do you even know what you're talking about," she demanded of him poking him in the chest on the last eight words.

"That act might work on your parents Sam but not on me. I'm not gonna let you walk over me all you want," Zack said as he grabbed the finger she'd been poking him with and stared deep into her eyes with a smirk growing across his face with a cocky look in his brown eyes.

"Same can be said for you" Sam muttered as she wrenched her finger free of his grasp and stormed away. She bumped into a rather tall figure and sat down hard on the cold tiled floor. Danny stood there, peering down at her with a distracted expression on his face. _Wow, he's pretty solid for someone who I managed to knock over yesterday._

"You know, it's getting rather annoying, most people just say hi when they meet or see each other, not bump into each other," she told him as she glared up at his still distracted face.

"Sorry about that but I've been known for not following the rules," he told her as he offered her a hand, his eyes dance with humor, probably at the thought of some private joke that she didn't even want to waste time speculating over.

"Uh-huh," Sam murmured unconvinced as she took his hand and he helped her to her feet. Sam frowned trying to figure out why Danny seemed so absolutely carefree, even though she had treated him so badly.

"What?" he seemed rather cautious to ask and he took a step backwards after he had helped her up. So he had noticed the way she had acted towards him.

_Well duh, you'd have to be blind not to notice it,_ stated a sarcastic voice in her mind. "Your…not following me are you?" Sam asked slowly, unsure of how else to phrase her question.

"No, why would I be?" Danny asked looking puzzled. Sam couldn't help laughing at the look on his face, which, of course only made him even more confused.

"No reason," she said, dismissing her previous accusations with a wave of her hand.

"Hey, window cleaning boy, my mom's food ain't coming free," Zack called from the living room. Danny scowled but didn't say anything else as he went back to where he had left his wash bucket.

_Could Zack's voice get any more annoying?_ Sam mused as she shot a glanced over her shoulder at the two teen boys before wondering down the hall towards the kitchen. She stopped when she noticed the steam coming out of the laundry room. W_hat idiot would leave the lid up after turning on the washing machine?_ She thought as she walked further down the hall.

Upon entering the laundry room, she noticed an African American boy wrestling with the lid of the washing machine. His red cap and yellow hoodie lay discarded on the floor and a nice layer of foam covered his face so that it looked like he was Saint Nicolas in disguise while his black t-shirt and cargo pants soaked up the water and foam that surrounded him. Foam slowly boiled over the top of the washing machine like mist over a cauldron and steam hung low in the air.

"Um, what are you doing?" Sam questioned as she watched with an amused expression as he continued to battle with the machine. The guy was so startled that he almost bumped his head when he looked over to where she was standing in the doorway and spilled some more water on the floor in the process.

"I just opened the top to put in some clothes I had forgotten but it wouldn't close again afterwards!" he exclaimed sounding desperate. Sam felt sorry for him as she watched him continued to struggle.

"That's because you're not supposed to open the lid after you start it," she told him as she cautiously started making her way towards him, afraid that she might slip on some foam and she really had had enough of falling to last her a lifetime.

"How was I supposed to know that, our washing machine isn't nearly this stubborn!" the guy cried out indignantly. Ignore his reply, Sam bent down started searching the wall with her hands considering that it was impossible to see anything behind the large silver machine. She fingered the plug's switch and a moment later there was a loud metallic clank as the washing machine lost the battle.

"Ha! Beat that," the boy held with a triumphant look on his face. Sam rolled her eyes as she switched the plug back on, restarting the now closed washing machine.

"You know you're talking to a home appliance right?" Sam felt the need to point it out to the dancing boy.

"I know," the African American said confidently. "Thanks for the help back there," he added, gesturing towards the humming device behind him.

"Sam," she told him with a grin.

"Tucker," he said as he took her offered hand. "Are you Zack's sister or what?" Tucker questioned.

"Are you kidding, that'd be horrifying," Sam said, her eyes widening at the thought. Tucker seemed intrigued by her strange reply but didn't push for any more information, which she was grateful for.

"So, you and Danny are the new maids right?" Sam asked after a while silence.

"You met Danny?" Tucker asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, just now, he and Zack got into a bit of a fight. Zack's face was pretty much priceless," Sam nodded, not missing Tucker wincing at her words.

"Yeah, Danny has a bit of a temper when it comes to certain things, let's just hope it doesn't get us fired" Tucker sounded grim which caused Sam's curiosity to rise.

"It won't. I actually think Maria'll be glad that you aren't frightened off by him or anything like that considering that that's how she lost all the other maids," Sam reassured him rather absentmindedly.

"What I don't get is how Zack can be related to Mrs. Connors, she seems so nice but Zack…" Tucker trailed off though Sam could understand why he didn't really want to say anything rude where someone might overhear, though his friend certainly didn't seem bothered by the same thoughts.

"He doesn't get much attention from his dad so he feels neglected, though it really isn't a good excuse," _I should know_, Sam added silently to herself.

"He should consider himself lucky, Danny's parents want to kill him," Tucker stated before clamping his hand over his mouth as if he had said something that he knew he shouldn't have but he had realized it too late. Sam peeked at the African American, her curiosity sparking into a raging fire.

_What is he talking about?_ "What do you mean," Sam couldn't stop herself from asking.

"Well, not all families share great relationships," Tucker said rather quickly, a nervous chuckle slipping harshly up his throat. "Um, I better get this place cleaned up," he added quickly before disappearing out of the room to go search for the mop.

Sam frowned, it was clear that he was just trying to avoid the subject but it was also obvious that he wasn't going to answer any of her question, even if she tried to ask him about it.

"Um Sam, where does Mrs. Connors keep the mop?" Tucker wanted to know as he poked his head back into the room. Sam rolled her eyes as she led him to a closet next to the kitchen sink.

_Tucker might not be willing to tell me but I'm not going to stop until I figure it out_, Sam vowed before leaving the room.

**Well, there you go people. Reviews, please!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so I finally updated after a weekend of not writing, I hope you like it and if I get a few reviews I'll update again, maybe I'll even update tomorrow. Thanks to Xbrowneyesx13, Oak Leaf Ninja, twarne and seantriana for the reviews and Xbrowneyesx13 for adding my story to their story alert. **

Chapter 6: Private Jokes

Sam had to admit that she was disappointed at how dumb Danny and Tucker seemed to be. _Though Danny is even worse than Tucker_, the Goth girl decided as she stared at the spray gun and window-wiper that lay untouched on one of the racks in the closet. _Honestly, what kind of person doesn't even bother to look for these before they start cleaning windows? _Sam wondered, rolling her eyes as she grabbed the 'tools' and headed back to the living room. "You know, things would be a lot easier if you used these," Sam stated with a raised eyebrow, brandishing the cleaning tools in Danny's face. Danny managed a sheepish grin as he took the spray and window-wiper and placed it on the floor next to him. Sam's eyebrow shot up even further as she went to sit on one of the usable couches in the room.

"I'll use it when the water is filthy,' he explained when he noticed her strange look. Sam shrugged, it made sense.

"So, where do you want to go?" Zack questioned as he reentered the living room, shooting a quick glare towards Danny who was busy enough cleaning the window, not to notice.

"I'm not going anywhere with a jerk who can't even apologize for what he did," Sam shot at him, not even bothering to look at him as she spook.

"What I did?" Zack stated disbelievingly but received no reply. "You know what, I don't even care anymore!" he hissed after a long pause and Sam heard him stamping up the stairs before his bedroom door slammed shut. _What a baby, I can't believe I have to waste my time with him,_ Sam thought bitterly as she clenched her fists. Unfortunately, the relationship between the two had always been rather bad considering they were forced to spend time together. A few months back, they'd finally agreed to tolerate each other but before that they'd been fighting worse than cats and dogs. The fighting had gone on for two years so far because she'd been brought here every second Saturday here since she was thirteen.

"What the heck was that all about?" Danny wanted to know, startling Sam out of her thoughts.

"Ugh, he's such a moron, just because I'm forced to be here doesn't mean I have to put up with him," Sam ranted, not even caring for Danny's rudeness in asking or the fact that she was spilling her guts to someone she didn't even know, it just felt good to blow off some steam.

"Wait, you're forced to be here?" Danny interrupted her, sounding confused. Sam glared at him, irritated with herself for saying too much. "Hey, I was just asking," Danny said defensively, holding his hands up in surrender but Sam was too tense to care whether or not she'd scared the guy. She turned away again, trying and failing to compose herself. As she struggled, Sam's eyes drifted over to the now brown blood decorating the once beautiful couch. Sam frowned at the small amount of moss green stains that showed in-between the red.

_Maybe its grass stains_, her mind reasoned though she wasn't even sure if it was possible for it to rub off of clothes and onto the couch. "So…" Sam started after a long pause and a deep breath. She was slightly surprised by the feeling of embarrassment that now coursed through her veins and caused her cheeks to color slightly. "Are you here because you need money for college or because you and your friend wanted to see the crime investigation?" Sam tried to joke as she turned back to Danny, who had started to use the spray gun and wiper.

He looked over at her with a smile that seemed forced. "Neither, Tucker and I accidently got on the wrong plane after we lost our parents at the airport so we ended up here with barely anything. When Mrs. Connors heard, she offered us food and a place to stay if we would work as maids in exchange," he said all of this rather quickly, as if he was embarrassed to admit that he had to work as a maid because he'd gotten onto the wrong flight.

_Well, it isn't the smartest thing to do, _Sam concluded but she couldn't help feeling that they were either rather brave or rather desperate to go this far. A giggle slipped through her lips, which caused Danny to give her a curious look. Sam felt completely bewildered, this wasn't like her, she hardly ever smiled never mind laughed and she almost never bothered talking to people unless they talked to her first. The only exception to that rule had been Jenna, her eighth grade friend and Sam was even sure if she really _had_ started their first conversation or not. Sam forced herself to speak when she noticed the weird look she was receiving from Danny.

"You got on the wrong plane?" Sam asked the first thing that popped into her mind.

"Yup, ask Tucker how we managed to get past all the security with the wrong tickets. The worst part is that he knows how terrible my sense of direction is but that didn't stop him from getting us lost anyway," Danny said with a slight chuckle and a relaxed smile as he continued to work. Sam still couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Unfortunately, the surprises didn't stop there as Danny continued in an annoyed voice. "Leave it to him not to warn me, I mean, it's not like I was really paying attention to anything, I was too busy trying to get us away from the ghosts that were attacking us," Danny said but Sam got the feeling that she hadn't been supposed to hear that. Sam blinked at him, suddenly worried for his mental health as she slowly started to back away from him.

"Ghosts?" Sam questioned, her voice a few octaves higher than usual as Danny gave her a look of surprise.

"Yeah, they're practically everywhere where I come from," Danny quickly recovered though he seemed rather nervous and he kept rubbing the back of his neck in a guilty manner. "Anyway, could you get these back to the laundry room?" he questioned, holding up the bucket of water and the old cloth he'd used before she'd introduced him to the wonders of a spray gun.

Sam hesitated but nodded as she took it, her eyes widening when she noticed the large bandage stuck on Danny's arm. Sam glanced over at Danny but he had gone back to cleaning and didn't seem to have noticed her staring. Turning quickly, Sam headed back towards Tucker, no matter how annoying her parents where, one thing she'd learned from them was how not to be rude, she'd just added on her own; how-not-to-be-rude-while-in-the-privacy-of-your-own-home, considering those were the skills her parents seemed to be lacking in.

Sam frowned, Danny hadn't seemed like the kinda guy who'd actually be crazy, then again, looks could be deceiving. Still, it was clear that he hadn't meant for her to hear so it really was none of her business, but if Danny was some kind of danger to Mrs. Connors, then she had to know. An idea sparked in Sam's mind but she couldn't help wondering if it was the right thing to do? Would he tell her the truth?

Steeling herself, Sam picked up her pace and was relieved to see that Tucker hadn't already left the laundry room, that or he had just returned with some more laundry that need to be done.

"So, ghosts huh?" Sam said as casually as possible as she placed the bucket and cloth in a hidden corner, a small nervous chuckle escaping from her lips. Out of the corner of her eye, Sam saw Tucker stiffening before he spun around and stared at her in disbelief.

"Danny told you about that?" he exclaimed in shock.

_Uhh, okay… well at least that cancels out any possibility of Tucker knowing if Danny was hallucinating or not, even worse, he seemed to be sharing Danny's belief in ghosts. Maybe that's why they're friends, still… _

From the looks on both Danny and Tucker's faces, Sam could tell they weren't lying to her or trying to pull some childish prank; either they believed that their home town had been infested with ghosts or there really was such a thing as ghosts and Danny and Tucker lived in one of the few places in the world that held paranormal activity.

"Not really, he just mentioned that you were chased by ghosts and that's why you got onto the wrong flight," Sam explained rather awkwardly.

"Yeah, it happens quite often where we come from, though I suppose you don't really believe me since, from what I've read in the paper, you don't seem to have a ghost problem," Tucker stated with a small smile and Sam noticed a glint in his eyes, as if he was thinking of a private joke.

Sam forced a smile and shrugged before turning around and leaving.

Sam slipped through the back door into the garden and sat down on the cement bench frowning.

She didn't really know a lot about ghosts except that some people sometimes claim to see them in one haunted house or another. Even though she was a very active and full blooded Goth, Sam had always been more interested in Mythology, Greek Mythology to be precise. She liked to read it because it was interesting and sometimes even amusing when you looked as some of the people's stupidity. Yet it wasn't like a fairytale where a happy ending was guaranteed which made it a lot like real life. You had to work hard and earn everything you got and even if you did that, it wasn't set that everything was going to turn out right, just because you wanted a happy ending, didn't mean you'd actually get it, that wasn't the way life worked. Sam shook the thoughts away, she had to focus! Anyway, the point was that Sam knew practically next to nothing about ghosts so she didn't know what to think about the two _maids'_ claims but she wasn't willing to dismiss the existence of ghosts either. It would be better to do some research on ghost before she did anymore judging and who knows, maybe she'd find something new she was interested in. It was always good to collect knowledge and if it turned out to be interesting, all the better. Sam allowed a small smile as she reentered the house and headed back to Danny with new resolve, if she was going to figure things out, she might just need Danny's help.

"You almost done?" she questioned, surprised when he jumped into a defensive position, brandishing the window-wiper as if it was some lethal weapon. "Wow, calm down, it's just me," Sam said, holding her hands up in surrender when she saw the furious and guarded look in Danny's eyes. She was stunned, she hadn't know it was possible for the teenager to look so dangerous, even if he was brandishing a green cleaning item. He lowered his defenses with a rather embarrassed smile and Sam forced herself to smile back, amazed when it came almost naturally.

"Sorry, blame my parents, they're unbelievably overprotective so they stuck me and my sister in Karate class for two years when I was ten, I never was really good at it, which just made it worse," Danny apologized as he sprayed the next window, not really meeting Sam's eyes. Sam frowned, hadn't Tucker said something about Danny's parents wanting to kill him, or where he and his friend not talking about the same people. Sam pushed the thought away, leaving it to be puzzled over later and instead decided to concentrating on something else.

"If they're so protective, how come you have that bandage on your arm?" she joked, her gaze traveling to Danny's well defined muscles…uh… I mean, bandaged arm. She blinked speechless as to where that thought had come from.

"Oh, this, it was just an accident with a motorbike," Danny said quickly and without another word he pulled the bandage off to reveal a long pale scar, probably about a week old.

_Funny, I didn't think he was the type for motorbikes, then again, I don't know him that well, yet._

"Anyway, I better get back to work, wouldn't want to lose my food privilege," Danny told her hurriedly before taking the spray gun and window-wiper and moving as far away from her as the windows would allow.

Sam's brow furrowed with suspicion, why did he suddenly seem so nervous. She knew she'd treaded onto a sensitive subject, maybe even a secret of some kind, and she was planning to find out what it was, especially considering that Danny seemed to have parents with multiple personality disorders and had till very recently, lived in a ghost infested town, she'd always wanted to experience an adventure or mystery of some kind and now she seemed she was going to get it, even if it was in the boring old town of Amity Park.

**Please Review**


	7. Chapter 7

**So here's the next, and probably longest chapter so far but I just didn't have the heart to cut it off any sooner than where it ends now, so I hope you enjoy it and that it isn't too much of an information overload. Thanks to the two reviews I got from Xbrowneyesx13 and Oak Leaf Ninja and the story alert I got from 1dgrayman. I re-eally hope all of my readers like this chapter since it was sort of difficult to write but maybe you'll be able to tell. **

Chapter 7: Swirling Secrets

Sam tapped the pen against her chin as she thought. The rest of the day really had been boring, though probably not as boring as it would've been if she'd had Zack for company. The only problem with having Danny to converse with was that, since the motorbike thing, he started with small talk, which, of course set off some major alarms. Her butler had come to get her around 16:30 so she was now back at her house and deep in thought. Sam quickly debated the pros and cons of starting a diary before pulling a black leather bound book from one of her desk drawers before and opening it up to the first page.

_Saturday, 17 April 2111_

_Hi, my name's Sam(Samantha) Manson, daughter or Pamela and Jeremy Manson and a Goth amongst the cheery and outgoing. I just decided to start a diary even though I have absolutely no idea why. It's stupid I know, and since I'm already fifteen years old, it's actually quite embarrassing to think that I would want to put my thoughts down on paper, but I need it to clear my head and write down things that I might forget or whatever. It feels as if I have a lot on my plate right now even though some of the problems have been developing for well over a year. My mom and dad are trying to control my social life, which sucks considering they're forcing me to stay at Zack Connors' (the super jock at my school's)house every second Saturday until I'm eighteen, which basically means my life is ruined. Anyway, that's where my second problem kicks in._

_I was at Zack's house today when I met his two maids, Danny and Tucker. Yeah they are guys, but they needed money or a place to stay because they got on the wrong plane. I'm not sure I believe them but what other logical explanation is there considering I've never seen them at Casper and though I suppose they could be going to the local high school instead of my private one but then why would they lie about living here. But the mystery of where they came from isn't even the weirdest part, apparently their town is full of ghosts. Again, I'm not sure whether to believe them or not but I guess only research will tell. Let's just hope I stumbled onto something interesting considering how boring my life is at the moment. My life might not be average but it's definitely not the type of life I'd ever have imagined for myself, and yes, that's a bad thing. _

Scanning once over what she'd written, Sam pushed the book to one side and opened a web search. 'Popular Ghost Towns' Sam typed in after a while's consideration. Her mouth fell open when, seconds later, Amity Park, America popped up as the title to the first link. _What the heck? _Sam unconsciously held her breath as she opened the Wikipedia link, unsure of what to expect.

_Amity Park was originally named after the large park found in the middle of the town. Most of the town's important stores and buildings are also station around this park… _

Frowning, Sam scrawled down with the mouse till the subtitle: 'Ghost Attacks, Ghosts and Ghost Hunters' drew her attention_._

_**Ghost Attacks, Ghosts and Ghost Hunters**_

_**Ghosts Attacks**_

_Between 2010 and 2012, a large number of ghosts appeared and attacked the small town of Amity Park, endangering a large number of civilians daily. The ghosts' appearance was a side effect of a portal that was built by Jack and Madeline Fenton who wanted a way into the world of ghosts. Unfortunately the portal was only discovered after the Fenton's managed to stop a ghost invasion, shutting the portal down moments before they were drawn into the Ghost world themselves. The portal seemed to be permanently deactivated forcing the ghosts to stay in their world. _

_**Ghosts**_

_**The Box Ghost**_

_Though the manner in how he died is unknown, it's speculated that he used to work in a packaging and boxing factory, which explains this ghost's obsession with boxes. The Box Ghost __is a __running gag__ ghoul who constantly fights with cardboard and anything square (and the occasional bubble wrap).Though he does not seem to be a threat, he was constantly captured by Phantom, the local ghost hero. He was almost successful in taking over Amity Park by using Pandora's Box, but failed thanks to intervention from the ghost boy. The Box Ghost is easily recognizable with his bright blue skin and dark overalls, he also cries: "Beware, for I am the Box Ghost!" whenever he faces off with a foe._

_**Skulker**_

_This ghost died while in the Amazons and thus still carries out the will to hunt. Skulker is a robot ghost who was heard referring to himself as the "Ghost Zone's greatest hunter" and is known to be obsessed with hunting Danny Phantom. The reason for his grudge against the hero is unknown but he often refers to Phantom as "welp" or "ghost child". Though his crimes are relatively small scale, he has often caused major property damage, especially at the local high school Casper High. This ghost's mechanical suit with a variety of weapons, which makes him dangerous to approach. Stay clear of this ghost if possible. _

_**Lunch Lady**_

_This ghost died of old age but seemed to have an obsession, like most ghosts, with the job she had before she died. She has a fear of people changing menus at restaurants and schools and attacks those who threaten her traditions. Her first attack was foiled by Danny Phantom though he was thought to be attacking the school instead of saving it. _

_Wow, this Phantom guy's mentioned quite a lot and not only with these three ghosts, _he seemed to have defeated all the ghosts on this list. The scrawler came to an abrupt halt when she spotted the 'ghost boy's' name.

_**Danny Phantom**_

_It is unknown how this ghost died but he appears to be around age fourteen and was one of the first ghosts to appear in Amity Park. He was frequently spotted at Casper High and it is therefore assumed that he may have gone to school there during his life if not died there. This ghost, though at first suspected to be a terrible villain because of misinterpreted situations, actually seems to have a hero complex which drives him to saving any civilian in immediate danger. He wears a black and white suit and in many occasion it seems to be his signature colors. He has a strangely human appearance unlike most other ghosts. Unfortunately this ghost went missing one year after he's first appearance in public and has not been seen since._

Sam's eyes flitted to the next subtitle: 'Ghost Hunters'

**Ghost Hunters**

_**Guys in White**_

_The Guys in White were agents who worked for the government in an effort to contain the ghost problem but unfortunately they turned out to as a laughing stock and were shut down after in 2011 after they mistook a local kid as Phantom. The kid was saved and they were once again defeated by the ghost boy._

_**The Fentons**_

_Though the Fentons' success in ghost hunting was originally doubted, they earned respect after saving their town from the ghost invasion and stopping ghost involvement in the real world, permanently._

Sam ignored the rest of the information and pursed her lips as she tried to process everything she'd just read. Not only did ghosts seem to actually exist but for two years, Amity Park had been a prime spot for them. Moving the curser over the file option, Sam quickly printed out the information before going back to the search engine. Sam blinked as she opened a website call: .uk. A website with an orange background loaded up along with a short history lesson on FentonWorks that, apparently, had belonged to Jack and Madeline Fenton but that now belong to their great-grandchild.

Sam's jaw almost hit the table as she stared, without blinking, at the photo at the bottom of the page. It showed a man standing next to a pregnant woman, with two children in front of them, but, of course, that's not what bothered her. It was the fact that, no matter how hard she stared, the man continued to look like an aged version of the Danny she'd met just today not to mention the fact that they seemed to have the same name.

_But that's not possible,_ her mind tried to insist as she zoomed in on the photo. But it didn't help, the more she zoomed in and studied the photo like her life depended on it, the more she was certain that Danny had to be related to this man. Both of them have black hair and they have the same eyes, if the jaw set and face hadn't been so different, they could've been the same person.

_Okay, now you're just being ridiculous, how can you tell whether it's Danny's eyes or not, their or billions of blue eyes on this planet_, her mind argued again and she felt suddenly nervous. How _did _she know it was Danny's eyes, she'd only known him for that day, yet there was no doubt in her mind that it was his eyes. Pushing the frightening thought from her mind, Sam went to the contact information and quickly jotted down the address before exiting the website and grabbing the piece of paper.

"Sammykins, are you in there?" Sam's mom called suddenly and she heard her mother knocking on the door.

"Ye-es," Sam answered, slightly annoyed as she stretched the words into two syllables. "But I'm going out for a while" she added as she examined the contents of her closet. There was a pause as if her mother was considering her options.

"You better not be trying to run away again young lady," she called after a minute of silence.

"No mom," Sam replied with a tired sigh.

"Dinner'll be ready in two and a half hours and I'm getting Martin to drive you otherwise you're not going out of this house young lady!" Pamela called making her daughter groan though she mumbled in agreement.

Sam couldn't decide whether to laugh or rather walk the other way once she'd studied the building located at the internet address she'd found. It was a large brick building with two stories but its normalcy stopped there considering there seemed to be an old version alien spaceship decorating the roof and casting a shadow over all the nearby houses. Underneath it was a, only slightly less conspicuous, sign sporting the words Fenton Works with an arrow point and the eye-catching building.

"Is everything okay Miss Sam?" Martin wanted to know as he stuck his head through the window and studied the building with a worried gaze before glancing back at her over his shoulder.

"I'll be fine Martin, you can come and pick me up in half an hour from now," she said absentmindedly as she climbed out, shut her door and started heading towards the house-museum. Hesitating only slightly, Sam rang the doorbell and waited and nearly gasped when the same man, even if his hair was a lot greyer, from the photo opened the door.

"I'm sorry but we're closed for today," the man said after getting over his initial surprise.

"Wait, Mr.… Statford!" Sam struggled to remember his surname. "I-I recently started taking an interest in ghosts and I was just wondering if you could help me," Sam explained, trying not to sound too desperate. He frowned for a second but then his eyes softened and he smile.

"If we make it quick," he decided and for a moment, Sam just blinked, unable to believe that he'd allowed it so quickly. A relieved smile appeared on her face. "So, what got you into ghosts…"

"Sam," Sam introduced herself and Mr. Statford nodded in acknowledgement but didn't say anything else. "Well, there was this guy, Danny…" Sam began, watching Mr. Statford's reaction to Danny's name in case he recognized it. For all she knew Danny could be his son or one of his relatives but he didn't show any signs of knowing who Danny was. "…and he said something about there being ghosts in his hometown so it got me wondering and then I found out about this place and that Amity used to be overrun with ghosts," Sam paused, a frown suddenly creasing her brow. "How come they didn't mention any of this in history class, true or not, for the town to have been suspected of hauntings, it's a pretty big deal." Sam decided as she was allowed into the house and took a moment to take everything in.

The front door entered into a small hall with a living room on its right and the entrance to what appeared to be a kitchen, on its left. The living room consisted of grey walls and a pale dark blue carpet. A white couch was placed against the wall opposite the door and the white chair on its left was turned to face it while a triangular coffee table was placed a bit in front of the couch with a spread of old magazines on it. What

Sam could see of the kitchen; appeared to be table tops, floors and walls that was colored either dark green or yellow, a coloring she found rather strange. A staircase was place against the outside of the kitchen wall and Sam could make out one room on the second floor that looked like its main theme was blue.

"Well, I think the local high school does mention it some time during eighth grade, so unless you're new here or something, I'm not sure," Mr. Statford speculated while Sam grimaced as she realized that Casper probably never mentioned it because they thought it was just myth or legend. "Anyhow, considering you're interested in ghosts, I'll show you the basement," Mr. Statford continued, completely oblivious to Sam's sudden irritation with her school.

"Dad, what are you doing?" a guy asked as he popped his head out of the kitchen, surprising Sam. He had blonde hair and blue eyes and looked about eighteen so Sam assumed that he was the guy Mrs. Statford was pregnant with on the photo considering he that the boy in the photo had had black hair and brown eyes and the other kid in the photo had been a girl.

"Oh, Vince, this is Sam, she's interested in ghosts so I thought I'd show her the basement before we lock-up," Mr. Statford explained with a smile and Sam noticed Vince rolling his eyes before giving in with a resigned sigh.

"Fine," he murmured and led the way to a small set of stairs that led down into darkness. "Ugh, great, I forgot I plugged out the light box!" Vince grumbled as he cautiously descended the stairs and disappeared into the black room with Sam and Mr. Statford on his heels. "It's plugged in!" Vince called after a minute of noise and struggling.

"Good, the light should be- Ooff" Mr. Statford's words were cut off by a slight groan of protest and Sam watched as he stumbled. Luckily he caught himself on what appeared to be a table and a suddenly a wiring sound filled the entire room. A look of bewilderment appeared on Sam's face at what was happening. A few seconds later light started filling the basement but it was about as much comfort as a barbwire blanket considering it was radioactive green and coming from the wall instead of the ceiling.

Sam stared in horrified wonder as a pool of green opened up in the wall in front of her. A swirling green mass of unknown elements.

"Oh my…" Sam barely heard Mr. Statford murmur as she continued to stare, her mind almost refusing to accept what she was seeing. Unexpected laughter was suddenly ringing in Sam's ears, deep and menacing, almost shaking the lab with its bass. The pool of green began to glow as the laughing got closer and soon, a robot was floating in front of the three stunned humans.

A metallic face floated in a green, flame-like head while another green face, this one circular, was set into the robot's stomach. The wiring in the robotic suit shone green as well, drawing attention to all the gadgets attached to the suit. A ghost's tail came out from underneath a belt labeled ST. The ghost surveyed the room for a moment, as if recalling his aunt's house, before he headed straight for Mr. Statford.

"Dad!" Vince exclaimed, finally able to shake off his daze. Sam watched, frozen, as Mr. Statford dove aside and the ghost crashed into the table instead. The table, that Sam now realized was actually a control panel, moaned in protest and the doors on the green pool cracked shut. The ghost cackled one last time before turning transparent and launching itself through the ceiling.

Vince ran over to his dad, bumping into things as he went but seeming to do a good job of ignoring the pain.

"Um, I'm sorry you had to see that Sam, but maybe it's best if you go now," Mr. Statford grunted after his son had helped him to his feet and had wondered over too plug in what Sam hoped was the right cable. There was a buzz and the lights came on to reveal a war zone of what Sam assumed to be ghost gadgets. Sam nodded numbly as she studied the technology infested room that sported the same green and metallic look that the ghost had just vanished with.

"I'm sorry if I caused any trouble, thanks for the effort," Sam apologized as she turned around

"Vince, just plug that machine out," Mr. Statford said with a tired sigh. The last thing Sam heard before she was out of earshot was Vince's worried claim that the plug seemed to be impossible to remove.

**Please Review. Thanks**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to Xbrowneyesx13 for your kind reviews and I'm so glad you like the story so much. Thanks to Oak Leaf Ninja as well for your review and yeah, the topic of Phantom **_**is **_**going to come up between Sam and Danny. ****Unfortunately I'm going on holiday tomorrow so I won't be able to update for the next three or so weeks because I won't have access to the internet for a while. I will however have access to a pen and paper during my time at the beach so I'll be ready to type when I get back.**

Chapter 8: A Ghostly Meeting

Sam groaned as she fidgeted with her school clothes, yup you heard it right, Casper High has a uniform. A dark blue pleated skirt, white button up collar shirt, dark blue tie and red pullover with short white socks and black school shoes for the girls. The boys looked almost exactly the same except that they had dark blue trousers and black belts instead of the skirt.

It was Tuesday, the day of the week where you feel as if the weekend will never come even though it just ended and Sam was currently trying her best to avoid Zack before she was forced to spend half an hour of homeroom with him.

Sam was one hundred percent exhausted from last night. She had stayed up till midnight reading and rereading all the information she'd gotten on Wikipedia but she still couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something. Then, after she'd finally given up on trying to figure out what that something was, she was kept awake by her over active imagination that kept portray the mechanical ghost as her kidnapper.

"Yeah, cause my life is just so-o-o great," Sam muttered as she sat down in her regular seat and let her bag slip to the ground. The door was thrown open with unnecessary force and seconds later, Zack stalked inside looking like there was a storm brewing in his mind.

"That woman is going to drive me crazy, who does she think she is, sending them here. I could probably humiliate them enough times but they're idiots!" Zack raged leaning over Sam's desk and glaring down at her as if it was somehow her fault.

"Listen Zack, it's obvious that you're really irritated with your mom right now but I don't really care. I know people have to put up with you and I'm one of them, but right now I'm not at your house so I really don't care what's in your best interest. So could you please… back off!" Sam realized she had shouted the last two words when the half of the class that was already there, stared at her in utter shock. _Oh great, _Sam gritted her teeth against the scream that threatened to escape her, why did everything have to go wrong today.

"Hey dude, you think this is it?" a voice questioned, practically making Sam's blood freeze over. Sam looked up at Zack with unexplainably desperate eyes and her fists clenched when she noticed the smug look on his face.

_Okay, calm down, you have nothing to be nervous_ _about, it's not like you did anything wrong except witnessing the reappearance of a ghost and no one will find that out anyway_, Sam tried to assure herself but her mind refused to listen and every time she thought about Danny and Tucker, her heart seemed to go into overdrive, as if it was going for the hundred meter dash.

"I really wouldn't behave like that if I were you, have you forgotten about the…" Zack trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging as if he expected Sam to know what he was talking about, which she did. "Anyway, I told you my mother is awful, she asked me to bring the two idiot maids here because she wants everyone out of the house today. And the two morons don't even seem to know the bare basics of anything," Zack said sweetly and threw his thumb over his shoulder towards the two guys who had just entered the class.

Sam felt her stomach do a nervous flip as she studied the two new arrivals. Tucker wore a black shirt and a light yellow, jacket with some black strips on its sides along with camouflage trousers that Sam realized was a pair of Zack's favorite pants. Danny on the other hand was clad in light blue jeans, a white shirt and a black sports jacket with two red strips on the outer sides of his sleeves.

Tucker looked like he was basking in the glow of being noticed while Danny on the other hand seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he had drawn all the girls in the class' attention.

"Sam!" Tucker exclaimed and the two new kids made their way to the blushing Goth who had been trying very hard to go unnoticed by them. Danny grinned at her as they approached, confusing Sam to no end.

"Hey Sam, sorry about Saturday, I was a bit distracted but thanks for all your help by the way," Danny apologized, looking completely casual and relaxed in _Zack's _clothes, but Sam didn't miss the spark in his eye. It was the same kind of spark that would make teachers worry for the survival of their classrooms.

Thinking this made Sam look over to the door but it showed no sign of opening to the arrival of their teacher, Miss. Summers. Don't let the 'Miss' or the 'Summers' fool you, she was a single woman in her fifties.

"No its fine, I didn't even notice," Sam lied as she took out an exam pad.

"You losers can sit in the back and keep quiet," Zack hissed, jabbing his thumb towards two backseat that had been empty for the past three months because it was under a vent that Miss Summers loved putting on at full blast. _It's a good thing they both have jackets,_ Sam decided as they made their way to the seats, Danny shooting Zack a withering glare.

Miss Summers finally came, her black high heels clicking on the floor as she made way to her desk. Like always, she was dressed in a business suit with a stern expression on her wrinkled face.

"Okay children, we've got two kids from out of town with us today so point them in the right direction if necessary. Also I hope all of you signed your slips to go to the field trip next Monday," Miss Summers stated as she flicked on the air-conditioning vent and proceeded to pulling a class list from her brown leather bag. Sam bit her lip before stealing a quick glance at Danny and Tucker and was surprised to find that only Tucker seemed to be shivering under the coldness of the vent while Danny didn't seem bothered by it at all. Weird.

Sam sighed as she sat down on her regular bench under a large tree that was rather hard to spot from the backyard where most people ate their lunch. That was exactly how Sam liked it.

"It's still here," Sam heard a deep, vaguely familiar voice say and her head snapped up towards the source of the sound. There, covering about five feet above the school roof, was the robot ghost thing that had appeared out of the pool of green. Sam caught her breath, surprised by its sudden appearance.

_Ugh, get a grip. Your Sam Manson, you're not going to let a ghost get to you, you can do this,_ Sam decided as she stood up squared her shoulders and raised her voice. "Hey! Leaving the school and the kids in it, alone!" Sam shouted, glaring up at the hovering green and grey figure. The figure seemed bewildered for a second but the next thing she knew the massive robotic thing had her pressed against the tree trunk with a dangerous grin on his face.

"Ah, the Goth child who helped free us from the Ghost Zone," the top head said in his deep voice.

"Yes, and now we're once again free to bring doom upon those who dare stand in our way," the circular head declared in a raspy voice.

"Hey Skulktech, so weak that you have to fight defenseless girls now to win!" a male voice called from somewhere above their heads startling both the robot and Sam.

"Ghost child?" the deep voice face seemed surprised, confused and angry all at the same time.

"I see you haven't upgraded in the last ninety years," the voice continued but this time its source became visible, floating in the sky above them. Sam's eyes widened and she strained against the sunlight to catch a glimpse of the new ghost, well, she assumed it was a ghost from the unnatural echo in his voice and the fact that he was several feet off the ground.

"And I see you haven't aged since we last saw you," the deep voiced face replied almost as if they were having a casual conversation.

_Um, sorry, but I'm sort of in danger here!_ Sam wanted to shout at the conversing ghosts.

"Yeah, I barely noticed the time going by," Sam was infuriated by the humor in the other ghost's voice, she couldn't believe they were actually exchanging banter while she was practically being held hostage.

"Don't joke around, ghost boy," the deep voice called into the sky.

_Wait, ghost boy?_ Sam's jaw almost dropped. "You're Phantom!" she exclaimed after she managed to recover herself.

"You know me?" the ghost was so surprised that he actually flew closer as if he was trying to recognize her and Sam got her first good look at the famous "Ghost Boy".

He wore what looked like a black and white hazmat suit, complete with white gloves and boots. And Sam thought he looked like he had white hair but she could be sure cause even though he had flown slightly closer, he was still too far away from her for her to see much more than his body shape.

"Let her go Skulker," Phantom told him as he flew slightly closer.

"Do not forget me, I am an opponent to you know," the circular face said in his husky voice, though he didn't turn around to look at Phantom since the other head seemed to be mostly in control of their body.

"Oh please, you couldn't catch me with both your hands free, never mind while you're trying to keep watch over a hostage," the ghost boy laughed, rolling around in thin air as if he found it to be the funniest thing in the world.

"Was that a challenge ghost boy?" the deep voice said with a wicked grin. Phantom just smiled but that seemed to be answer enough for the other ghost and Sam moaned as she was allowed to fall the ground with a painful "thump".

"You know, I'm glad to see you too but holding someone hostage doesn't really scream "welcome back"!" Phantom called as he shot green energy from his hands. The robot ghost snarled and landed a punch to Phantom's jaw, sending him backwards but he quickly recovered and landed a blow of his own, an, though Sam could be certain, she thought she saw the suit spark as if something had short-circuited. "You always were hot tempered, both of you, maybe you should just chill out" Phantom told the robot. Unfortunately for the robot, the green blasts soon turned into one massive ball, wait, was that a snowball, that he hurled at them.

They tried, unsuccessfully, to duck out of the way when the second snowball was thrown towards them. Sam couldn't resist it so she ran closer and watched as the frozen robot fell to the earth, and disappeared behind some bushes.

"How the heck did you get out of the Ghost Zone, I thought there weren't supposed to be any ghosts in this town for crying out loud!" Sam heard Phantom say and she risked a peek from the tree she was hiding behind. He had landed and was staring at the frozen ghost with his arms folded across his chest. Sam gasped, surprised to realize that he really was just a teenager.

Obviously though, it wasn't the right thing to do since the ghost spun around and his gaze immediately landed on her, his fingers already ablaze with his strange green power and, too Sam's surprise, she noticed that his eyes were the Sam color and glowed the Sam way the power in his hand did. To her own astonishment, Sam found that the ghost boy was hot! He was one hundred percent her type if not for the fact that he was a ghost which meant that he had died and was supposed to be about a 120 years old by now.

"Are you alright?" he asked after a pause, the power in his palms dying away but he made no move to approach her as he studied her cautiously as if to judge her reaction to his sudden appearance.

"Sure, though I wouldn't put ghost attacks on my 'things to wish for' list," Sam told him, unable to keep the slight quiver out of her voice. Phantom just ginned.

"True, ghosts and humans don't usually associate well with one another," he agreed. "Still, sometimes humans need rescuing," Phantom shrugged and Sam couldn't suppress the sudden glare at his words.

"Thanks for saving me and all but I'm not as hopeless as you think," she snapped and though she could tell that she'd caught him of guard with her sudden mood swing, she couldn't have cared less.

"I didn't mean to call you helpless, and I saw the way you tried to draw his attention away from the school building. I thought it was brave of you but I wasn't sure whether you'd be able to handle them all on your own considering that I barely managed it the last time I saw him like that," Phantom told her, his tone soft though his explanation was a bit rushed and Sam almost cursed when she realized that a slight blush had made its way onto her face.

"Them?" Sam asked blankly, not knowing how else to respond. To Sam's irritation, Phantom seemed amused by her confusion.

"Yeah, the ghost you just saw was a fusion of two of my enemies who decided to "become one" or whatever," Phantom explained, looking slightly frustrated as if he himself couldn't believe that it had happened. "It used to be just Skulker and Tecnus but now I'm stuck with the two of them in one body and it's unbelievable inconvenient," Phantom muttered the last part, staring at his feet and looking thoroughly miserable.

"Wait, so the hunter and technology ghost band together to defeat you. How lame is that?" Sam murmured rolling her eyes at their stupidity. She couldn't help feeling slightly embarrassed when she noticed Phantom staring at her as if she'd just dropped from the sky.

"How do you know so much about ghosts?" Phantom asked with a strange frown, as if he were trying to put pieces together but they just didn't fit.

"Um, someone got me thinking about ghosts so I did a little research on Wikipedia about them," Sam explained, desperately trying to suppress the bit of blush that was creeping onto her face once again.

"Man, it still exists? Wait, you found a whole webpage dedicated to Amity Park's ghosts?" Phantom questioned disbelievingly.

"Yup, that and ghost hunters like the Red Huntress and the Fentons," Sam explain and she couldn't help noticing that Phantom paled when she mentioned the Fentons.

"Is that so?" he croaked before clearing his throat and looking uncomfortable.

"Did you know the Fentons?" Sam blurted without thinking. He blinked at her for a second before responding.

"Not really, they were just another group of people who hated and hunted me," there was pain in Phantom's eyes as he said this and Sam was sure he was lying to her, but why would he? Pushing the thought aside, Sam just settled for a thoughtful nod.

The bell rang, startling and shocking her, she hadn't realized how much time had gone by, had it really been half an hour already? She quickly rushed over to the tree where she'd left her food before turning back to the teenage ghost.

"Thanks again. I'll, probably see you around sometime," she said cautiously, unsure of whether or not she really wanted to see him again. Phantom seemed to brighten at the suggestion and Sam felt a pang of guilt as she realized that the ghost boy most likely didn't have any friends.

"Great!" he chirped, unconsciously make Sam's decision a lot easier for her.

"Then meet me tomorrow after school, we can talk or whatever," Sam instructed and gave him a reluctant smile, still unable to understand why she was doing what she was doing at the moment.

"Right," he agreed with a large smile before vanishing into thin air.

**So, I'm finished for the next three or so weeks so I really hope you enjoy your Christmas and everything and that you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks and please review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Yes! I am finally back and I've been typing like heck to finish this story tonight. Thanks to VampireFrootloopsRule, Xbrowneyesx13 and Oak Leaf Ninja for all the reviews you've really been faithful so far and it really means a lot to me and thanks to seantriana who also left a review. Also, thanks to Sin – NaMe and Lethamis for adding my story to their list **

Chapter 9: Weird Haze

"Dude, where have you been, I ended up hiding in the computer lab all through lunch because _somebody _decided to ditch me," Tucker accused when Danny joined him in World History after lunch.

"Like _you _minded," Danny snorted while rolling his eyes at his friend. "Besides, I didn't ditch you, my ghost sense went off," the last part, of course, was added in a hushed tone.

"No way! But I thought this place was rid of all its ghosts some decades ago," Tucker complained in a whisper.

"Not anymore they're not," Danny said grimly as he took out a notebook he'd snagged from Zack. Of course, the only things in it was the stuff Danny had decided to write down since Zack was obviously too lazy to take any notes in class, big surprise there.

"So, who was it?" Tucker wanted to know as he studied his friend.

"Skulktech, though he hasn't upgraded since the last time we saw him. Luckily, otherwise I really would've gotten my butt handed to me back there," Danny said darkly as he thought back to the encounter.

"It happened before, what could've made such a difference this time 'round?" Tucker pointed out with a frown. Danny cast a guilty look at Tucker who narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Who was it? Danny, I swear, if you're gonna leave me out of the loop like with the dating disaster with Paulina and Kitty, then I'm never talking to you again. Kwan practically sent me to the hospital because of all the bone crushing hugs I received from him and Star's backpack couldn't get any heavier!" Tucker threatened and whined, throwing his hands into the air for emphasis.

"Jeez Tuck, it was nothing like that, it was just Sam," Danny mumbled though he doubted Sam would've liked being referred to in that way, then again, maybe she wouldn't care. Noting Tucker's confusion, he quickly told him what had happened.

"I know we agreed that we could "befriend" the people here, but you shouldn't get too involved with her. We have to find a way back home as soon as possible," Tucker said rather cautiously. It was true, after Sam's observation about his scar, Danny had all but freaked out and, once along in their shared room, Danny and Tucker had agreed that they should stay as uninvolved as possible. They'd also come up with stories for every question that they thought someone might ask them and it had taken a lot to memorize it all, sort of like cramming for a test the day before the actual exam. Danny shuddered, having done that one to many times in the year since he'd received his ghost powers.

Noticing that Tucker was still waiting for a response, Danny quickly rummaged around in his brain for one that would satisfy the African American.

"It's not like that, she thinks I'm some lonely ghost in need of a friend. Trust me Tuck, you have nothing to worry about," Danny said and though he tried to sound dismissive about it, he wasn't sure if it came out that way.

"Uh-huh," Tucker sounded unconvinced.

"It's true!" Danny said, his voice one octave higher than it should be, this of course, did not help his case.

"If it's true, then why did you agree to meet her tomorrow after school?" Tucker demanded, smirking victoriously even before Danny had time to reply, not that he would've had a reply to begin with.

"She just seems like she needs a friend," Danny answered lamely.

"You do realize that that's the exact same reason why _she's_ agreeing to meet _you. _Besides, since when do you care if she has a friend or not, she didn't really seem all too keen to greet you back this morning," Tucker seemingly felt the need to point out.

"It not that I care and besides, I was rude to her and this'll be a good way to make up for that, even if she doesn't know it," Danny stated. Whatever Tucker wanted to say was cut short by the teacher's arrival so instead he settled for giving Danny a curious look since he knew they wouldn't be allowed to discuss it any further in school guest students or not.

"How come Skulktech was here in the first place?" Tucker asked that afternoon as they trailed behind Zack on their way home, the orange sun (yes, you heard it right) still high in the sky as it cast a strange glow over the surrounding area.

"No idea. Maybe I can trick it out of Skulktech the next time I see him," Danny mused aloud.

"Your luck reeks, dude. We've been here for all of four days and you've already brought ghosts to a supposedly ghostless town," Tucker complained loud enough for Danny to worry that Zack might've overheard.

"Tu-cker!" Danny said, stretching the name into two syllables as a display of his frustration towards the African American boy.

"I'm just saying." Tucker was quick to defend himself. Danny rolled his eyes in a resigned manner, knowing he wouldn't get anything in ways of an apology from Tucker. "Anyway, I think it'd be a good thing for us to know how much damage you've caused," Tucker stated, back on topic.

"Later," Danny assured his friend, running a tired hand through his jet black hair. The sound of thunder caused the three teens too look up as the clouds funneled together in a dark storm and a wisp of cold air escaped from Danny's mouth and sent a chill ran down his spine.

A booming laugh rang in the teens' ears. Soon, a buff man with glowing blue skin and a cupid-heart tattoo on his upper arm, appeared wearing dark blue overalls along with a hat. He grinned menacingly at the three guys, his eyes glinting with the same viciousness Danny had seen in him only last week, when the stupid ghost had been in possession of Pandora's Box. Danny gulped, still slightly amazed that the Box Ghost could really look so animalistic.

Tucker and Danny exchanged looks before they nodding and screaming "Aah ghosts!" and then running away as if their lives depended on it. Danny slipped into an alleyway and launching himself behind a trashcan before allowing his ghostly transformation to take place. Without missing a beat, Danny shot up out of the alleyway and flew to the, still grinning, maniac.

"Beware," he taunted in a deep voice, a smirk on his face. Danny glared before forcing a cocky smile onto his face as he returned the taunt.

"Still as annoying as ever but you never _were _a threat," Danny declared as he hurled his first blast at the ghoul without giving him a chance to reply. Caught off guard, the blast managed to knock the Box Ghost back a few meters. The ghost glared slightly as he righted himself and wiped some ectoplasm from the corner of his mouth.

"Is it my imagination or have you not aged or grown stronger in the years of your absence?" the blue ghost chuckled.

"What do you care, and how did you get out of the Ghost Zone anyway?" Danny demanded as he shot another ectoblast, unfortunately missing by a few inches.

"I will not answer any of your questions, I am not as weak as I used to be!" the Box Ghost bellowed as he lifted his hands above his head as if lifting some unseen weights.

_And not as dumb as he used to be either,_ Danny noted rather grimly. Danny watched with growing, if well hidden, dread as the sky darkened, thick clouds gathering at an amazing speed. There was a rasping sound like millions of nails down a blackboard that caused the hair on the back of Danny's neck to stand on end.

The next thing Danny knew, he was flying backwards at a terrifying pace, the wind knocked out of him and his stomach feeling like someone had repeatedly wacked it with a baseball bat. A groan escaped Danny as he hit a nearby building, causing the wall to crumble as he started falling towards the ground. "Oof!" Danny's arms shook as he managed to stumble back onto his feet.

Danny's mouth almost fell open when a bunch of boxes came flying out of the eye of the storm and hurled themselves towards him so that he started feeling as if he was playing evil dodge ball. Danny grabbed onto a screaming Tucker and hulled them out of the way before staring back at the Box Ghost with an "Are you crazy?" look.

"Is it just me or did he get more powerful?" Danny asked Tucker as he placed him safely behind a tree.

"Dude, he just summoned bunch of boxes from a storm cloud!" Tucker exclaimed in an of-course-he's-more-powerful, type of voice. Danny quickly indicated to Tucker to stay quiet before disappearing from sight and launching his full body weight against the Box Ghost.

Boxes rained down on the two ghosts as they tumbled back to earth. Danny managed to throw a few punches before retreating on account of not wanting to smash head first into the tarmac. He spun back around to glare at the, now battered, Box Ghost. The blue ghost let loose a terrifying, yet strangely familiar, howl of rage before charging at Danny like an angry steam train. Taking in a deep breath, Danny readied himself for the attack, but was soon knocked speechless by what he saw in front of him. Recognition lit Danny's eyes as he realized why it had sounded so familiar. It was the same howl of rage the Lunch Lady gave whenever she decided to attack him. As if to prove his point, the boxes on the ground started shaking before lifting, much like the Lunch Lady's meat. Danny stared as the hoard of boxes formed into a giant-sized body.

_Okay, now this is getting ridiculous,_ Danny thought with a quick roll of his eyes. "Learned that from your wife, huh Box Ghost?" Danny taunted as he blasted part of the cardboard body to smithereens. His palm burned with a new ectoblast but it started flickering in and out of existence as a haze drifted across Danny's vision, causing him to stumble in flight.

"Danny!" Tucker's concerned exclamation managed to pull him back to reality and he quickly shook off his daze along with the headache that seemed to be appearing. Unfortunately it was fast enough and Danny received a smack in the face courtesy of a giant cardboard hand.

"Alright, that's it!" Danny yelled angrily, a strange green aura surrounding him as a large ball of ecto-energy started building up in his hands, the end result being that it practically started raining cardboard.

"How'd you get out, tell me!" Danny shouted, the Box Ghost's clothes melting as Danny held onto them but he was too angry to wonder how it was possible.

"Your lady let us out!" he sneered, which only caused Danny to glare harder.

"What 'Lady'?" Danny growled sounding rather menacing himself.

"The one with the black hair and dark clothes, duh," the Box Ghost exclaimed, a bit of his old self showing.

"Sam?" Danny breathed in shock, almost dropping the Box Ghost. Danny groaned in frustration at not understanding what was going on before he froze the blue ghost and depositing him on a nearby roof. The strange haze once again obscured Danny's vision and mind and he felt himself losing altitude until he was stumbling onto the tar and managed to stagger into Tucker.

"Danny, are you okay!" Tucker exclaimed as Danny steadied himself and looked at his friend with a grimace.

"Yeah, I think so," Danny managed as he straightened up and blinked a few times in an effort to clear his sight.

"What the heck was that?" Tucker demanded, still examining his friends with worry.

"I don't know Tucker, but I better get back to my parents' house and see if there are any weapons I can use. Looks like we'll need them sooner than I thought," Danny stated as he rose back into the air and sighed when he caught sight of Zack trembling behind a trashcan. Sure the guy had been irritating the life out of Danny but it was clear that what Zack had just seen had scared him witless. "And take care of him will you, I don't think he'll be able to handle much more of this," Danny added as an afterthought before flying off to his old house and grabbing a bag as he passed a hiking shop.

**Well, there you have it. I really hope you like this since I'm normally really bad at fighting scenes and I'm hoping this one turned out okay. I know it was short but still. Also, I'll probably be updating Friday or Saturday again so bear with me. Thanks. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, I worked **_**really **_**hard on this chapter so I hope it was worth my efforts and that you like it. Anyway, you have no idea how much I grinned when I read TurnDreamsIntoReality (a.k.a Xbrowneyex13)'s review. Also, thanks to VampireFrootloopsRule, Oak Leaf Ninja, mulletmania and Night'sBullet.**

Chapter 10: Worries and Questions

Danny rubbed his eyes and pulled at the neck of his shirt, suddenly feeling as if it was way too tight, making him almost claustrophobic. Danny hadn't slept well that night thanks to a terrible fever, he'd eventually resorted to using his ice powers to cool his skin but the fever seemed to have moved to his organs instead, burning them up, though Danny took note that he was barely aware of his fever while in his ghost form but once he was in his human for he was stuck with a headache and constant nausea. It was clear that this _wasn't _normal but then again, maybe fevers were different when you were half ghost, though Danny doubted it. Taking in a deep breath, he turned to the bathroom mirror and studied his appearance.

Danny was ready to go; his usual black and white hazmat suit was replaced by black skinny jeans, a plain white shirt, white sneakers and a black and grey hoodie, which he promptly threw up to cover is glowing white hair. A Fenton Thermos had been clicked onto one of the belt loops on his jeans slightly pulling his pants down. The bits of Danny's hair that was still visible, was tussled like always. His green eyes were glowing, which slightly unnerved Danny considering his eyes usually only glowed that way when he was angry and he definitely wasn't angry right now. The other, slightly off, thing about him was that the exposed parts of his skin still glowed with spectral energy, but at least that wasn't abnormal in his ghost form and he reasoned that the sunlight would hide most of the glow from any onlookers. No need for everyone to know that Danny Phantom was back, not yet anyway. Staring at himself he lifted his hand to his face and finger the skin underneath his right eye.

_What's wrong with me?_ Danny worried as his fever broke through his ice defenses for a few seconds and caused his eyes to ache and burn till two tears appeared at the corner of his eyes. Rubbing the tears away, he went intangible and flew through the bathroom wall of the Connors' house.

Danny grimaced as the heat and pain once again subsided, Tucker was going to kill him if he found out about Danny's fever or maybe all the work Tucker was now forced to do would drive him to kill his best friend. Danny had promised Tucker he would do most of the chores for tomorrow if he was willing to do Danny's leftover chores of today. Still, it scared Danny to think that he could be this committed to meeting Sam, but he tried to reassure himself that he was only taking interest because he needed to find out how she'd ended up being involved in the escape of some of his past enemies. _She seems so innocent, and why would Skulktech attack her if they had been allies? _Danny mused as he landed in front of the school gate and turned visible once again before leaning against the white wall that surrounded the school building.

Danny took in a deep breath as he listened to the school bell ringing. Barely a minute later, children were already walking through the gate while chatting excitedly to their friends. Danny rolled his eyes as he heard the complaints about their large amount of homework, from two girls as the passed him. A smile broke out across his face when he noticed Sam in the throng of people, though it turned into a small frown when he realized that Zack was next to hear. As he got closer, he noted that Zack was scowling while Sam seemed to be completely ignoring him and this, for some reason, cheered Danny up quite a bit.

"Hey, Sam!" Danny exclaimed, drawing a few eyes, Sam and Zack's included, towards his moving figure. Sam blinked a few times before her eyes widened in recognition while Zack looked like he might keel over from shock.

"Ready to go?" Danny grinned as he ignored the whispers of gossip that seemed to follow him and instead focused all his attention on the Goth girl in front of him. Sam seemed dazed for a second before matching his grin with one of her own. "Glad to see you could make it," Sam said as they fell into step with each other and walked away from the staring crowd.

"Wouldn't miss it, though your boyfriend seemed a bit shocked to see me considering I rescued him from a ghost attack yesterday and I don't think he likes me much," Danny joked though he was careful to watch her reaction, wanting to determine her relationship with Zack, he couldn't help puzzling over why she said she was "forced" to spend time with him.

"He's not my boyfriend so don't assume anything you know nothing about!" Sam snapped while Danny just stared, taken aback by her reaction. Danny gave her a curious look as she sighed and ran a hand through her short hair. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, it's just…complicated," she apologized and they spent the next two minutes in utter and completely awkward silence.

"So, why'd you do it?" Danny questioned. Though he had told Tucker that her acceptance of him had been because she thought he was lonely, Danny couldn't be sure if it really _was _the reason.

"Do what?" Sam asked, sounding completely baffled.

"Why'd you decide to befriend me? Why not just run away screaming like people normally do?" Danny elaborated as he kept his eyes fixed on the road in front of him. There was silence as Sam seemed to consider his question before answering.

"Well, I'll admit, I was a bit shocked at first but you did save my life and in my book that count for something. Besides, people are defined by their actions, not what they are," Sam stated and Danny could tell that she believed strongly in what she'd just said. "I mean, look at me, according to my school, I'm a Goth freak!" Sam finished with a gesture towards herself.

"Sam, you're not a freak." Danny couldn't help chuckling at the suggestion.

"Says the ghost boy," Sam countered with a smirk.

"True, but I was normal once," Danny admitted before frowning. "Um, could you please not call me that a girl in my high school used to call me that whenever she saw my ghost form," Danny murmured, rubbing the back of his neck in a self-conscious manner before silently cursing himself for using the words 'ghost form'. Sam's eyes widened and she looked mildly embarrassed as she mumbled a quick: "Yeah, sure."

"It must've been hard for you," Sam whispered after another pause. Danny stared at her in confusion, causing her to blush as she explained. "To be forced to watch everyone you love, just pass away like that." For a moment, Danny didn't register her words, but when he did, he couldn't help feeling guilty. It was clear that Sam was uncomfortable asking and that she was afraid that her observation would upset him, and in truth, a part of him was hurt to hear it, but he managed to push it aside to answer her.

"Actually, I was forced away before I could see it happen, but maybe it's better that way," Danny said, deciding to stick with as much of the truth as possible. Danny watched, brow furrowed, as Sam bit her lip and shifted her gaze to the side. Though this aggravated Danny, considering he couldn't see her eyes anymore, he kept silent as they walked through the park and eventually sat down under a large tree that seemed to tower over everything else.

"So _Phantom…_" Sam seemed to be testing out the name as she said it. "…what's with the clothes, the suit not working for you anymore?" Danny was surprised by her joke but grinned as he answered.

"I was trying to blend in, most people don't take to well to me being a ghost, though it's obvious that _you're _not most people." Though Danny didn't say it, he was grateful for the fact that Sam seemed to be so different then everyone else. Sam snorted and Danny raised a questioning eyebrow at the Goth girl.

"Well, you failed," she deadpanned to which, Danny replied with a roll of his eyes. "Seriously though, I wouldn't be surprised if all the girls had started drooling over you by tomorrow. For some reason, they're always into that mysterious type," Sam continued and Danny was once again filled with curiosity at her remark. Danny couldn't help wondering if her reaction meant that she also found him attractive to, though the thought made him blush.

"They don't even know me," Danny felt the need to point out, a frown creasing his brow as he thought back to Paulina and the strange obsession she'd had over him. He'd truly loved it at once point but had started growing tired of it about a month ago after a school beauty pageant had turned ugly.

"So? That doesn't stop people from having celeb crushes," Sam said with a shrug.

"True…" Danny agreed with a sigh, causing Sam to smile. "But I'm not a celebrity," Danny added making Sam roll her eyes in an exaggerated manner.

"No, you're just a guy who saves people from ghost attacks and who appeared in news report a lot!" Sam said, sarcasm practically dripping from her voice while Danny simply smiled.

"Exactly. Besides, even if I was a celebrity wouldn't it turn out to be the main reason why I'm here today," Danny joked though, unfortunately, Sam seemed to take his joke seriously.

"No, it's not that!" Sam snapped as she glared at her combat boots. Danny blinked.

"So you just decided to become friends with me for no reason whatsoever?" Danny clarified, thinking back to how hesitant she'd seemed yesterday at school.

"No! Um…you just looked like you needed a friend" Sam exclaimed rather defensively, as if there was something wrong with people being friend for no reason, then again, Danny _had _been the one to ask. Danny suppressed a smile when he realized that he'd been right about her motive, maybe there was hope for understanding this strange girl.

"So, you don't mind being friends with a ghost?" Danny asked doubtfully while another part of him reasoned that Tucker hadn't minded either, well, after an intense "it's still me, Danny" session he hadn't. Sam seemed to relax slightly before she answered.

"Nah, my one friend, Jenna, died two years ago, but, if she showed up now, ghost or not, I wouldn't hesitate to become friends with her again," Sam explained before biting her lip as if she realized she'd given away too much personal information. Danny once again bit back a small smile at her behavior. "You wouldn't happen to know her would you?" Sam asked rater suddenly looked hopeful. Danny thought about all the ghosts he'd encountered and shook his head.

"No, no clue," he said after a while, but he could tell Sam was struggling to believe him.

"H-how does it work?" Sam questioned looking slightly unsure and maybe even cautious.

"Um, I'm not really sure how to explain it but I suppose I can give it a try. There's this world parallel to ours, the Ghost Zone. It's like a never-ending dimension where all ghosts live. Well, most of the time anyway. Sometimes they decided to stay on earth, if they have unfinished business to attend to or if they're too attached to their material possessions," Danny explained and Sam snorted at the mention of material possessions. "That's how it usually works anyway…" Danny frowned at the ghost portal and all the trouble it had caused, bringing ghosts into the human world, giving him ghost powers and transporting him into a different time where he wasn't even sure how he was staying in it without a time medallion.

"Used too, what changed?" Sam asked and Danny slightly regretted what he'd said but decided it was a good way to approach the subject he'd been wondering about since taking off at the Connors' house.

"A month or so before I…died," Danny paused when he noticed Sam cringing at the word. Danny shot her a slightly confused look but continued with his story when she shook her head in reply. "The Fentons started on a new project, a ghost portal to be exact," Danny stated, fishing for a way to continue.

"Yeah, I heard about that," Sam agreed with a thoughtful nod and Danny let out a relieved sigh, though he was once again, a bit surprised by Sam's knowledge.

"Well, unfortunately, for the portal to work, it had to tear a gape into the Ghost Zone, which, in turn, allowed ghosts to pass freely between the two world whenever the barrier doors were opened," Danny murmured as he thought back to the day everything changed. While the portal had torn open a piece of the Ghost Zone, Danny himself had experienced the pain of being torn apart when his molecules had been fused with ectoplasm, ultimately altering his DNA."I don't think the two worlds were really supposed to mix at all, it's too dangerous. Ghosts are vicious and selfish for the most part, it'd be impossible for us all to co-exist peacefully" Danny muttered bitterly.

"What about you?" Sam asked in a soft voice and Danny blinked at her a few times before answering.

"I'm human enough for now, but who knows how long that'll last," Danny said, terrified of the potential truth in his word and the possibility of one day becoming a raging ghost. Sam shot a disapproving frown at Danny, seemingly angered by his answer.

"What's keeping you human now?" Sam demanded sounding fierce. Danny was taken aback and unsure of how to answer, he couldn't very well tell her that it was because half of him really was still human.

"I don't know I-" Danny was broken off when a cold wisp of air escaped his lips. Sam blinked clearly startled by this occurrence. Danny groaned as he climbed to his feet and shot an apologetic look towards Sam. "That's my ghost sense, it tells me whenever a ghost is nearby," Danny told Sam, who had a mixture of fear and … interest in her lavender eyes. Danny stared at her in wonder for a few seconds before a grin spread across his face. "Don't go anywhere," Danny told her with a smile before flying into the air and scanning the surrounding area of the park. Danny's eyes widened and his already pale face lost all of its remaining color when he noticed the figure floating a few meters above Sam's head. Danny balled his fists, angry that his presence seemed to be putting Sam in danger. Danny's heart sank once he realized who the ghost was, of course she wasn't the most powerful ghost but her appearance told Danny that she definitely was a lot more powerful than she was supposed to be. Jeez what had happened to make everyone so much more powerful?

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Danny demanded as he flew closer and glared at the ghost. Sam's head snapped up, as if she'd just noticed the second ghost's existence. They both stared at the girl with the green hair, a skimpy black top, fishnet stockings, black boots and the red skirt and jacket that matched her eyes. Danny absentmindedly took in the look of disgust that crossed Sam's face as she studied the ghost.

"Danny! So it's true, you really are back," Kitty sang, her hands on her hips as she grinned at the suddenly tense, ghost boy.

"What do you want Kitty, where's Johnny?" Danny hiss as he shot forward and placed himself between Kitty and Sam.

**Please tell me what you thought about that. Thanks. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry to VampireFrootloopsRule and TurnDreamsIntoReality, I wasn't aware of the fact that I frequently left a chapter ending on a cliffhanger but I **_**am **_**glad that you're still enjoying this story and I appreciate your sarcasm and excitement, it gives me a laugh. Also thanks to Oak Leaf Ninja for the message and the review. Thanks to xOwl for adding my story to their favorite list. **

Chapter 11: Fighting and Bonding

"He's with some other girl, but don't worry, it's just you and me now Danny," Kitty purred as she leaned into Danny, who pulled away in disgust. Danny heard a growl from Sam but stayed focused on Kitty as she placed a thin, pale finger under his chin and looked at him with strangely hungry eyes, the type he'd learned to avoid at all costs.

"Knock it off Kitty, we're not doing this again," Danny said as he jerked away from her and glared at her, forcing himself to remain calm and using his anger to do so. "How'd you get so powerful anyway?" Danny demanded feeling rather agitated considering it wasn't normal for a weak ghost to stay the age that they died in.

"A girl can do a lot in a hundred years, especially when she's got no one to stop her, tiger," Kitty stated and Danny glared harder at her as he gripped her finger, stopping it from its journey down his chest. Suppressing the feeling of discomfort at his current situation and the fact that he was also painfully aware of the heat radiating off of Sam's body because of their proximity, Danny replied in an angry, if slightly repulsed tone.

"I've had enough of your games, Kitty. We both know I'm not the ghost you want so why don't you quite wasting my time and go back to your boyfriend," Danny told her as he risked a glance at Sam. Kitty narrowed her eyes at him, reminding him a lot of an angry Paulina, before her gaze shifted to Sam and a horrible smile spread across her face, causing Danny's stomach to flip and his shoulders to tense.

"What's this, does our Danny have a girlfriend?" Kitty teased, causing Danny's anger to flare. What gave her or any of the other ghosts the right to interfere with his personal life?

"She's not my girlfriend, and even if she was you'd just find another way to make my life miserable because of it!" Danny spat.

"Come on, Danny, don't be like that. You know we love you," Kitty said in her sickly sweet voice.

"Well, you have a weird way of showing it," Danny muttered feeling unbelievably irritated. He shot another glance at Sam and made his decision, quickly uncapping his thermos.

The blue light shot out and sucked a surprised Kitty into it, a single wail reaching their ears before he capped the cylinder. "Hey, I'm tired, and she was just asking for it," Danny defended himself when he noticed Sam's blank stare.

"Is that a soup thermos?" Sam asked looking skeptical.

"Actually, it's the Fenton thermos, it captures ghosts so I can safely transfer them back to the Ghost Zone," Danny explained. Sam snorted.

"The Fenton thermos? Isn't that a bit egotistical?" Sam wanted to know, still looking disbelieving.

"Yeah, he is," Danny agreed, smiling fondly at the memory of his dad. "Anyway it really comes in handy when you don't have a Ghost portal close by and it can hold fifty ghosts at a time, which is pretty great," Danny stated absentmindedly, tapping the thermos to his chin in a thoughtful manner.

Danny looked back at Sam when he realized that she had become rather quiet. Sam's expression had gone a little weird; her eyes held relief but her balled up hands indicated that she was ready to strangle somebody. He just hoped it wasn't him.

"Is there something you forgot to tell me _Danny_?" she hissed, seeming to have found her voice and, oh great, she seemed to be mad. For a moment Danny stared, dumbstruck by her sudden mood swing but he snapped out of it as her words registered in his mind and dread swept over him. Danny felt his heart and stomach sinking into the ground.

_Oh great, she figured it out, now she's going to run and tell everyone and I'm going to be put in jail or made a permanent ghost. Maybe Jazz's grandson's going to tear me apart molecule by molecule,_ Danny thought before his terrified mind went blank. "What?" was his brilliant response to her question.

"How come that ghost called you Danny_?_' Sam clarified, glaring at Danny in a demanding manner.

Danny held back a sigh of relief when he realized that she hadn't figured out his secret. "Um, that was my name when I was alive, didn't you get my full name while you were searching the net? It's Danny Phantom," he informed her with a shrug trying to sound nonchalant. Sam frowned and Danny quickly took advantage of her hesitation. "Look, I'll answer any questions you have, later, right now I still have Kitty's boyfriend to deal with," he told her meeting her gaze with a desperate one of his own. She paused, still glaring, before giving up with a sigh.

"Fine, but you're taking me with you," she told him, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"No way, it's too dangerous!" Danny objected but the next thing he knew, the Fenton thermos had left his grasp and Sam was holding it behind her back.

"You take me or I let _Kitty _go and she can answer all my questions, she seemed to know quite a lot about you," Sam threatened causing Danny to blanch as his heart started racing at a breakneck speed again.

He regarded her, trying to figure out whether or not she was bluffing. Danny gulped when he realized that she wasn't. He glared, furious that Sam could be so determined to put her own life in danger, didn't she have she have any self-preservation instincts left? _No, _Danny decided. _Clearly she doesn't have any self-preservation left considering she has no problem hanging out with the ghost that that attracted the most vengeful ghosts in the Ghost Zone._

Danny's glaring gaze flickered towards the thermos as he tried to calculate whether or not it'd be possible for him to grab hold of it. His eyes brightened in that terrifying way as an idea crossed his mind and he was about to launch himself into Sam's body when he noticed the desperate, pleading and fearful look in her eyes. He froze in place, taken aback by the emotions her eyes displayed.

"Sam, are you okay?" Danny asked before he could stop himself.

"Phantom, I need this. My life's been boring so far and if I want my life to mean something then I have to grab every opportunity I can get," Sam sounded upset which, in turn, made Danny feel guilty.

"Sam, you don't need to be attacked by ghosts for your life to mean something. You exist for a reason and you don't need me or any other ghost getting in the way of that," Danny told her, his gaze softening as he looked at the girl. Sam didn't budge, instead she just folded her arms and stared at him expectantly. Danny groaned but surrendered before flying closer and scooping a surprised Sam into his arms.

She made a strangled sound and clung to the thermos as if it could somehow help if Danny suddenly decided to drop her. Danny gave her an amused look while suppressing the blush that wanted to creep onto his face. He hated how aware he was of Sam's body touching his, and the heat that seemed to be shining of Sam's body didn't help much either. He silently wondered how she was able to stand being so close to his body. With an internal wince, he held her further away from his body, hoping to lessen her discomfort that his ice cold body probably caused her.

"Are you going to drop me?" Sam sounded frantic as her steel grip shifted from the thermos to his t-shirt. Danny chuckled, earning a glare from the Goth girl.

"No, I'm not going to drop you," he told her, back to being gentle. Sam gasped when she finally noticed the height they were at.

"Amazing right?" Danny found himself whispering as they flew over the town, high enough that some low hanging clouds drifted by underneath them.

"Yeah…" Sam breath, sending a thrill of pleasure down Danny's spine and causing him to grin like an absolute idiot that Sam, luckily, didn't notice. "I've never felt so free," Sam mumbled and Danny nodded.

"This halfway makes up for all the injuries I get when I'm fighting ghosts," he informed her as he tightened his grip on her and did a quick loop, causing Sam to cling onto him again while screaming her head off.

"Don't do that," Sam's voice quivered slightly as she said this but there was a small smile on her lips so he knew she was okay and that she was probably enjoying the adrenaline rush that came with the thrill of flying.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," he admitted smiling. She grimaced and punched him in the arm, but otherwise, got over her shock rather quickly. Danny mentally rolled his eyes at her behavior, she really was different from any of the girls he'd met before and she seemed to take everything in stride, sort of.

"So, how did you and Kitty meet?" Sam asked after a while of quiet flying.

"Why, are you jealous?" Danny joked.

"No! ...I was just, curious…" Sam said hesitantly

"I'm just kidding. Actually, we met when she tried to take over my si- Jazz Fenton's body because her own had been destroyed when she and her boyfriend tried to go through the Ghost portal but failed," Danny explained, praying that Sam hadn't noticed his small slip up.

"And who is this mysterious boyfriend by the way?" Sam questioned quirking an eyebrow.

"Johnny 13," Danny grimaced. "He's about nineteen with blonde hair and a trench coat and he also has this bike he usually rides, I think that's how he died actually. He himself isn't much of a threat but he has this bad luck shadow that creates havoc wherever he goes, hence the nickname he." and so Danny soon found himself telling Sam all about the adventures he'd had and the stupid and sometimes amusing ghosts he'd come across, his search for Johnny quickly forgotten. Though he had to edit a lot and had opted to calling Tucker "Peter" so as not to make Sam suspicious, it was nice to take about it.

He'd been in the middle of telling her about how Walker had put him in ghost jail when he'd tried to retrieve a gift, when _it _happened again. A splitting headache almost overpowered Danny along with that blistering heat on his skin and in his organs. He vaguely noticed his ghostly aura flickering from white to green and back again as he started plummeting towards the building roofs, his eyelids fluttering in exhaustion.

Danny shook himself as Sam started screaming. He managed a safe landing before he fell to his hands and knees, dropping Sam in the process. Sweat slid down his face and dripped onto the ground as he moaned in pain. Danny's brow furrowed in concentration as he once again forced the headache and heat away with his ice powers, sighing in relief when he succeeded.

"Phantom!" Danny heard Sam exclaim and, a few seconds later, he felt her hands on his back.

"It's fine," Danny mumbled as he turned himself over and got back onto his feet.

"Okay, what just happened?" Sam demanded, eyeing Danny suspiciously.

"It's nothing, just a fever," Danny said taking in a few deep breaths to steady himself.

"Ghosts can get fevers?" Sam questioned, surprise erasing her anger.

"Apparently so," Danny grumbled, surveying the surrounding area before he turned back to Sam.

"Sam, why do you insist on calling me Phantom, even though you know my real name?" Danny blurted out the question that had been bothering him ever since he'd come to his senses a few seconds ago. It was strange and he couldn't say he felt comfortable with someone so close to him, calling him by something that was practically his surname. Sam seemed startled and took a while before she answered.

"Because, I have this friend whose name's Danny and it'd be weird if I called you Danny as well," Sam explained and Danny brightened when she called him a friend. Whether it had been intentional or not, it made him unreasonably happy to hear it.

"Okay, let's go," he said, making a move to pick her up again but she backed away, holding her hands up in front of her in a defensive manner.

"Oh, no way, you're not flying in your condition, it'd be like allow a drunk man to drive. We'll take the stairs and elevator down and hail a cab" Sam told him and before he could protest, she had grabbed his wrist and was pulling him towards the latch. "I don't care how many ghosts attacks _you _survived, if _I _fall out of the sky, I die," she informed him as the started down a flight of stairs.

"And where do you plan on going with me when we're in the cab?" Danny asked, apparently stomping Sam so much that she stopped walking for a moment before continuing on, deep in thought. Danny almost laughed when Sam's serious marching expedition was interrupted by her stomach rumbling.

"We could go to a restaurant, do um, do ghosts eat?" Sam wanted to know making Danny smile.

"Yeah," he laughed as they waited for the elevator to open.

"Hey, I think that's a fair question!" Sam protested.

"I suppose," Danny admitted still grinning. "As long as I get back at seven, we shouldn't have a problem," Danny said with a thoughtful nod while Sam raised an eyebrow at this remark.

"You have a curfew?" Sam asked in amused disbelief.

"Um, yeah, something like that," Danny was quick to pounce on the excuse for his slip up. Sam snorted, as if this was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard, which, Danny supposed, it kind of was.

"Alright Cinderella, but you better have a good reason," Sam stated causing Danny to frown in an effort to try and hide his worries as to how he could explain himself, and because what Sam had said had stunned him.

"You know about Cinderella?" he asked stupidly.

"Yeah, it's a story my mom used to tell me when I was little, all about the prince and the happily ever after and that crap but I have to admit that I like the original Cinderella better," Sam stated and with that she began to tell him how, the story had actually been about the prince murdering Cinderella. Yup, the topic was pretty weird, but Danny couldn't shake the feeling that it was somehow important.

**Well, that's the end of the second chapter but I have to ask; does this count as a cliffhanger? Cause if it does, then, I'm sorry but it was one hundred percent necessary.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay, so I've had a lot of questions about why Danny and Tucker aren't suspicious of the Sam replica but I'm afraid I can't tell you since that'll ruin the entire plotline but an explanation will pop up eventually. Also, I'm thinking of making this story a 20 chapter story so we're more than halfway done. Thanks to Oak Leaf Ninja, Night'sBullet, VampireFrootloopsRule and TurnDreamsIntoReality for the reviews and to Oak Leaf Ninja and Live off Laughter for adding my story to their list. I'm sorry to say my school is starting tomorrow so I have no idea how often or even when I'm going to be updating again. **

Chapter 12: Of She Demons and New Identities

_Thursday, 22 April 2111_

_Sorry for the long wait but my parents kept me from writing yesterday with all their rambling about how worried they were about me and how I better promise never to do it again or I'd be grounded for the rest of my high school life. I could probably tell them that I am terribly sorry and that I never should've done it but that'd probably be the biggest lie I would ever tell. Okay,_ _I, Sam Manson, admit that I've never been more shocked, amazed or confused in my entire life. It surprised me when Danny Phantom (and yes I have noticed that he, Daniel Statford and 'maid' Danny have the same name and I'm sure it's no coincidence, but I'll try and figure that out later), actually showed up at my school yesterday since I was convinced that even the strange ghost boy would totally try and avoid me after our first encounter. Not to mention the fact that my jaw almost unhinged when I noticed Phantom by the school gate looking better then I'd ever thought possible. He looked like a god in slacks, and I'm pretty sure that Narcissus and Adonis would've hung their heads in shame if they'd been forced to compete with his looks. Okay I might be exaggerating a little but still, if someone starts a fan club for him, I might just be tempted to join, that's how hot he is. Too bad I don't have a friend to share my feelings with but you'll just have to do considering the only friends I have at the moment are Danny and Tucker and I am NOT willing to talk about boys to them, it'd be super awkward. Still, I have to say that Phantom is making me feel like bats are flying around in my stomach. I never knew it was possible to feel this way just from of seeing some. Okay, yeah it kinda freaks me out to a great extent to think about it like it's an interesting experience and feeling and I have to admit that I kinda like. _

_Okay woah, focus Sam back to the story. _

_I was a strong and independent woman and yet there I was being, yesterday, being irrationally effected by the mere sight of him, how embarrassing could you get. But I swear, when he smiled, which was quite a lot I might add, it felt like I was starting to melt. I'm pretty sure his smile's infectious, either that or there's seriously something wrong with me. I'm a Goth for goodness' sake! The worst part had to be the walk to the park and part of the conversation under the tree since I ended up blurting everything out in an attempt to fill the silence. Thankful, some of his answers intrigued me enough that I didn't have to think about the awkwardness too much. _

_What I don't understand is why I chose to fall in love with HIM, no other living person had drawn my attention so quickly, well, maybe with the exception of Danny. HA! That's probably why I fell in love with Phantom, because his DEAD! Well, it does seem like my type of luck to develop a crush on someone that I could never, in a million years, be with. Yeah, cause he'll probably still be a fifteen year old boy by then and I'll be the Goth obsessed grandma ghost who died of old age. I actually enjoyed his company so there's no reason for me not to like him either, I'm screwed. _

_It was nice to be with him and I would even go as far as to say that it was a perfect day had it not been for the arrival of the she demon named Kitty, who, apparently had a huge crush on Phantom. You should've seen her, she couldn't keep her hands off of him. I wish I could just wring the girl's neck, especially after having to witness her dirty flirting, but unfortunately, she's already dead, which kinda eliminates the purpose of strangling someone. Get this though, she already has a boyfriend, so she's just using Phantom to make him jealous, what a skank, luckily Phantom didn't seem to buy her act and he soon got rid of her. I know I'm not supposed to be glad about it but I am._

Sam paused, frowning as she recalled the story Phantom had told her about the boyfriend, Johnny. He'd mentioned Kitty almost taking over Jazz Fenton's body and she'd also featured in a few of Phantom's other stories. Put together with the fact that he called her by her nickname and Sam suddenly felt sure that Jazz Fenton had been an important part of Phantom's life.

Snapping the diary shut, Sam dragged herself over to her computer, deciding that she'd continue writing later on. Instead she sat on a swivel chair and opened the internet browser.

_Jasmine Fenton,_ Sam was surprised at all the results that appeared under the single name most appearing to be links to her psychiatric books she'd written. She scrawled down the list until her eye caught the word _Biography,_ and she quickly opened the site to find that it was one of those information web pages that didn't have much on it but was great when you were doing a quick search for an eighth grade project. The first paragraph explained about her life's work as a physiatrist and the second paragraph started telling about her when she was born and her childhood. Sam choked on air and froze for a few seconds as the names of her family members.

_Jazz Fenton lived in Amity Park with her family, Jack Fenton, Maddie Fenton and her younger brother Danny Fenton who disappeared at the age of fifteen… _the sentence played over and over in Sam's head as she stared blankly at her computer, her mind struggling to understand what she was seeing. Snapping out of the daze, Sam's brain started working overtime as she shot up from her chair and dashed over to her bedside table, her hands trembling as she grabbed the papers she had printed out Saturday.

Her grip almost tore through them as she read. Even though she'd practically memorized the pages, she couldn't help wanting to double check her theory, worried that her imagination was running away with her but no, there it was.

"… _died_ _but he appears to be around age fourteen…" _so he'd be around Danny Fenton's age. Then later on, "_Unfortunately this ghost went missing one year after he's first appearance…" _that meant he and Danny Fenton had disappeared in the same year. Sam breath hitched as realization hit her.

_I don't know how, but one thing's for sure, Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom was the same person and I'm going to find out why they... he, disappeared,_ Sam thought as she sat down on her bed, her heart racing.

It all made sense, and it would explain why Mr. Statford was named Daniel, in remembrance of his missing uncle.

Sam was just about to go back to her computer when there was a knock on the door and Pamela Manson poked her head inside.

"Sammikins, are you ready? You know the Connors are expecting you at four, if you don't go now you'll be late," her mother informed her, making Sam groan.

"Do I have to go now, you're only going at seven, why can't I go then?" Sam moaned, looking at her mother with pleading eyes.

"No, Sam, it's very important for you to be there tonight," her mother said as Sam stood up and headed towards the door.

"Fine, I'll be down in a minute," Sam said before closing the door in her mom's face. Sam leaned with her back against the door and slid onto the floor. Sam's heart felt as if it was being squeezed but she pushed the foreboding feeling away as she stared out of her window. Ugh, time to get dressed.

She'd just unearthed an unbelievable secret and her mother had interrupted her thoughts to tell her that she had to go to a dinner party earlier than anyone else, what was the world coming to?

**Please, please, please review.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Oh my word, you have no idea how much I had to rush to finish this chapter tonight but I'm pleased with the way it turned out. Thanks for your pacience and though I can't promise anything, I'll try updating again as soon as possible but in the meantime, thanks to nightfall349, Jakkeirafan223 and Yami-sama42 for adding my story to your list and Turkeyhead987,** **TurnDreamsIntoReality, Oak Leaf Ninja, VampireFrootloopsRule, seantriana and Chad's Shortstackfor the reviews. **

Chapter 13: Cold Pleasure

Sam was relieved to escape the mansion without being forced into one of the nightmarish dresses her mother so desperately wanted her to wear. Not that her mother hadn't tried of course, it was just that Sam could run a lot faster than her mother and she didn't have new heels to worry about. She'd changed into more formal clothes before she'd run away and was now wearing her favorite purple leggings and underneath a simple black strap dress and her signature black combat boots. The black choker around her neck sported a single purple gem and her hands were covered with a black pair of fingerless gloves. Purple and green clips held her hair out of her face and drew attention to her purple eyeshadowed and lipglossed face.

It made Sam feel good about herself as she climbed out of the car upon its arrival at the Connors' house. It was true that Sam had once owned a wider variety of Gothic dresses but unfortunately her mother had burned them all while Sam had been at school and unable to prevent it. The only reason this dress had survived was because it had been in the wash when Pamela had gone on her rampage.

"Oh, my dear, I just called your mother but she said you'd already left. I'm afraid Zack isn't here at the moment, he surprised me by deciding to go to the movies with some of his friends, said he needed to relieve some stress," Mrs. Connors explained, and, was it Sam's imagination or did her eyes sparkle as she said the last part, as if she was somehow excited about something that only she knew of. "I'm afraid you'll have to entertain yourself for a while. The remote is on the coffee table if you want to watch some TV," Mrs. Connors continued as she adjusted a vase perched on one of the tables in the hall.

"Oh that's okay, I think I'll just go sit outside," Sam informed her with a slightly forced smile. Mrs. Connors gave a hurried nod before marching off in the direction of the kitchen leaving Sam to wonder outside as she pulled her phone out of her combat boot, well she had to keep it somewhere didn't she? Sam was planning on using her phone's internet browser to do a search for Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom when she walked onto the porch and gasped.

Standing by the pool with his back to her, was "maid" Danny. He seemed to be cleaning the pool but Sam hardly noticed considering he was doing it while wearing a pair of blue cargo pants and no shirt! Sam watched with wide eyes as he spun around to look at her but regrettably lost his footing and went tumbling backwards into the pool.

Finally jarred out of her daze, Sam hurried over to the side of the pool and was surprised to find steam rising from the water, had the Connors decided to turn their pool into a steam bath of some sort? Danny emerged from the water, his hair and shorts dripping wet and making him look better than an normal guy should, a pair of extra dark sunglasses perched on his nose. Sam blinked, glancing up at the weak April sun that was barely visible through the clouds. Why the heck would Danny be wearing glasses?

"Um, Sam, are you okay?" Danny seemed rather hesitant to ask and Sam suddenly felt like kicking herself for staring at him for so long without saying anything, he probably thought she was a retard.

"Yeah, fine, just, surprised," Sam managed rather breathlessly. Danny grinned as he started twisting the pool water out of his right pant leg before moving on to the other one. Using Danny's distraction to her advantage, Sam quickly surveyed him once more and frowned. "Um, are _you _okay?" Sam shot back upon realizing that Danny's usually tanned skin was practically glowing red, as if he'd been out in the sun for too long.

"Yeah, just, you know, cleaning the pool," he said with a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck. He suddenly winced and two drops of water trailed down from underneath his sunglasses, causing Sam's brow to furrow as she contemplated the likeliness of the drops being tears instead of pool water.

"Are you sure, you seem a bit-" Sam started, her hand instinctively going out to touch his forehead but her words died on her tongue when he cringed away from her. Sam was slightly upset by this but managed to pull herself back to her senses. Forcing her face not to show the hurt she was feeling, Sam dropped her hand to her side and pulled herself up to her full height in an effort to appear stern. "You look sick," she said stiffly before she spun around and marched to one of the longue chairs, determined to ignore Danny.

Unfortunately she knew that her determination couldn't possibly last long, though she was stubborn, she just couldn't seem to muster up enough courage to stay angry at Danny for more than a few minutes. Trying to ignore what she knew to be true, Sam unlocked her phone and started taping away, attempting to look busy while silently berating herself for what she'd done. She couldn't believe she'd actually reached out to touch him, she was Sam Manson, she did NOT mix well with physical interaction with other human beings. Why did people with the name Danny affect her like this?

"Sam, look, I'm sorry if I offended you in some way it's just that…well, I am sick so skin to skin contact is really uncomfortable at the moment," Danny apologized as he approached Sam, a shy smile playing on his lips. Sam studied him, looking into his eyes as she tried to figure out if he was lying or not. Finally, she let out a sigh of defeat as she lowered her gaze to her phone.

"No, it's fine, I just thought you were disgusted by me," Sam said as she studied her phone with fake interest while waiting for him to confirm her fears. There was a burst of laughter, as if Danny found it to be the funniest thing he'd ever heard. Sam's head snapped up and she shot Danny an irritated glare that he easily ignored, causing Sam to fume silently as she watched him.

"Why would I think that, Sam?" Danny questioned, launching into new laughter at the stunned look that Sam was sure had settled onto her face.

"You wouldn't be the first," Sam muttered darkly, halting Danny's laughter.

"You're cool, Sam. It's great talking to you and you're actually smart. What does it matter if you're Goth?" Danny said, the compassion in his voice making Sam blush.

"Thanks, Danny," Sam grinned. The boy grinned back and Sam couldn't help but chuckle quietly to herself.

"What's so funny?" Danny asked, looking curious at Sam's sudden change of mood.

"It's weird, ever since you came, I've come to know of fo-three Dannys and it's all because of something you said," Sam said, her smile broadening at the look of confusion on the teenage boy's face.

"Who are they?" he asked after a minutes of silence.

"Well, there's you, then there's Daniel Statford-" again Sam was careful to watch Danny's reaction as she said the name and was quite surprised by the look of disapproval that flitted across his face. "-and Danny Phantom" Sam finished, withholding her knowledge, or rather, theory, regarding Danny Fenton.

"Oh," Danny murmured as he retrieved the pool vacuum from inside the pool.

"Do you know Phantom?" Sam asked, intrigued by his lack of a reaction when she'd mention the ghost boy. Danny froze in the middle of cleaning the debris out of the vacuum.

"Sort of, he sometimes helps out in my town with all the ghosts you know?" Danny admitted while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh. Where do you live anyway?" Sam questioned, not quite believing his story. Why would Wikipedia claim him to be missing if he had just moved on to another town, besides, there was no way that Phantom would've willingly left Amity while it was still being attacked by ghosts. It definitely didn't add up. He seemed panicked for a minute before calming down enough that a teasing grin split across his face.

"For me to know…" he left the sentence hanging which caused Sam to glare once more and she was suddenly annoyed with the extra dark sunglasses that completely obscured Sam's view of Danny's icy blue eyes.

"What's with the glasses?" Sam demanded as she stared accusingly at the offending object.

"I, um, have to wear them…my eyes are sensitive at the moment," Danny stuttered out but it was obvious he was lying.

"Don't lie!" Sam snapped and watched as his feverish red skin paled slightly.

"I'm not lying! I need them for my eyes!" Danny exclaimed and Sam narrowed her eyes, noting the fact that he had changed his wording. It was something Sam herself did when she was trying to avoid lying without giving away that she was dodging the actual question or promise. Sam was just about to call him on it when he clamped his hand over his mouth and mumbled something about the bathroom before dashing inside.

Sam blinked, frowning when she realized that he might've just used his sickness as an excuse to get out of the hole he'd been digging for himself. Her thoughts were cut off by a strange metallic roar that suddenly filled the air.

Sam's head snapped up towards the source of the sound, which Sam found to be a motorbike. It was black and the type of motorbike that Sam herself would ride even if it was just to freak out her overbearing mother. A guy with blonde hair, a pale greenish complexion and a black overcoat was perched on top of it and smirking down at her. Sam glared when she realized that the guy was the famous Johnny 13 Phantom had told her about.

"Hey babe, where's the kid?" Johnny questioned, causing Sam to glare harder before her faces twisted into confusion. Was he talking about Danny?

"Johnny, leave her alone," the familiar echoing voice of Phantom said and a few seconds later, the ghost boy himself appeared in front of Johnny. "Ah, that's just great, you're still the same to," Phantom complain but he didn't get any further than that because at that moment, Johnny sent him flying.

"I heard you were back in town but I'm not gonna let you steal my girl again!" Johnny said, and Phantom, having recovered himself, just rolled his eyes.

"Would you get over that already, we both know she was the one who sought me out," Phantom said and, was it just Sam's imagination or did he give her a worried look.

"Whatever, shadow, attack!" Johnny exclaimed and a black shadow slid into view and shot towards Phantom.

Sam and Phantom cried out in shock when the surface of Phantom's body exploded into heat and flames jumped into life around him licking at his skin and the air surrounding him but never seeming to hurt him.

"What the heck?" Phantom muttered before understanding seemed to brighten his green eyes. "Cool, I have a new power which explains my fever!" he yelled, seeming pleased with himself before he formed a large ball of fire and hurled it at the shadow. Both the flame and the shadow disintegrated upon contact causing Phantom to grin widely. Johnny growled in anger and the battle commenced. Sam watched with growing weariness as the two started exchanging banter and punches until Phantom finally grew tired of it and sucked Johnny into his strange thermos.

"Do you always have such an easy time winning?" Sam teased when Phantom started lowering himself to the ground.

"No, but did you see that new power I got," he said, still grinning and looking extremely happy as he landed in front of her. Sam couldn't help smiling at his behavior but the smile faded when she remembered that she still had to talk to him about his identity.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Phantom asked sounding and looking concerned as he studied her face, making Sam feel extremely self-conscious.

"Um, I-know-you're-Danny-Fenton," Sam blurted out so quickly that her words came tumbling out over each other but Phantom seemed to have heard her, because his already pale complexion lost all of its color and he stumbled back, looking like he'd just been trampled by a horde of elephant.

"Wha-what makes you say that?" he stuttered out looking absolutely terrified.

"Well, you're the s-same age as him," Sam struggled to explain and Phantom looked about ready to object but Sam cut him off. "And you two went missing at the same time. You also refer to Jasmine Fenton as Jazz and she's in most of the stories you've told me. And why the heck would she trust a ghost that her parents hate, if he wasn't her brother or somebody equally close to her? And besides, why would you react this way if it wasn't true?" Sam pointed out feeling half way hesitant and half way excited as she voiced her discoveries.

"Wow, you really thought this through," Phantom stated before sighing in defeat. "Okay, you're right, my real name's Danny Fenton," he admitted, his shoulders sagging and his head hanging as he said this.

"So, how'd you end up dying uh, fully?" Sam asked though she wasn't sure if she even made sense to him. Phantom…Fenton's eyes widened and he looked slightly baffled for a second before he recovered enough to answer.

"Well, I got uh, shot while in the Ghost Zone and sort of got stuck from there," Fenton explained, rubbing the back of his neck as he went to sit in one of the deck chairs.

"How'd you become a half ghost or whatever, in any way?" Sam questioned as she sat down next to him, her brows creasing as she tried to figure it out for herself.

"Wow," Sam breathed when Danny, she'd decided to stop calling him by his surname, finished telling her about the portal accident.

"Yeah, it was pretty weird at first but I got used to it after a while," Danny agreed grinning. Sam returned his smile with one of her own and found herself staring deep into his neon green eyes. It was weird but it felt as if there was something familiar about their shape and the way they shone. "I can't believe you figured it out when even my own parents." Danny's icy breath fell on Sam's face as he spoke, but for some reason Sam welcomed it.

"You didn't tell your parents about your ghost powers?" Sam asked, silently cursing her voice for the husky tone in it. Danny snorted and lowered his gaze, making Sam extremely aware of the way she'd been staring at him.

"Please, they probably would've torn me apart molecule by molecule the moment they found out!" he told her, pausing before finally looking up at Sam again. "Besides my sister and Peter, you're the only other person who knows my secret. I'm glad to know that I can trust you," Danny whispered and Sam caught her breath when she realized that they were mere inches apart.

The next thing Sam knew, he'd captured her lips with his cold ones in a passionate kiss, their bodies pressing slightly against one another and his gloved hands cradling her head. Sam felt as if it was charged up with electricity and Sam was pretty sure it was supposed to be illegal for someone to experience this much pleasure. Sam wanted it to last forever but it was prevented by someone calling her name from inside the house.

Sam and Danny broke away from each other at the sound of Zack's voice and Sam was about ready to strangle him for interrupting her perfect moment.

"I better go," Danny told her, looking both pleased and annoyed as he smiled at her.

"Wait, can, um, can I see you tonight?" Sam blurted, trying to keep her face from going red but failing. Danny blinked before grinning.

"Sure, how late should I come?" Danny asked.

"How 'bout midnight?" Sam suggested and they both grinned.

"Sam?" Zack called and Sam grinded her teeth together before answering.

"Out here," she yelled and Danny gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and a wink before disappearing.

_Oh my word, I just kissed Danny Phantom!_ was Sam's last, excited thought before she turned to face Mrs. Connors' oh so annoying son.

**Please review** **and tell me what you think!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Here we go, I'm planning on about six more chapters and then I'm supposed to be done with the story so lets see if it can be done or not, in the meantime, just enjoy this chapter. Thanks to****kittyhawk09,****Oak Leaf Ninja and****TurnDreamsIntoReality. Also thanks to FiresCreek,****kittyhawk09,****Skye of the Night and Necromancer Shadows for adding this story to their list. To VampireFrootloopsRule, I'd love to hear your theory about what's going on so PM me if you want, just don't spell it out on the review, though luckily, it's obvious that you're smarter than that. Okay, here we go, let's see if I can get you psyched up.**

Chapter 14: Horrible Party

"What were you doing?" Zack demanded as he stepped onto the porch.

"Nothing, I was just trying to ignore that annoying sound that's supposed to be your voice," Sam shot at him, still mad that he'd interrupted her perfect moment and then had the audacity to act as if she'd done something wrong by simply being on the porch.

"You know what, yo-" Zack started to say but cut himself off when "maid" Danny's voice became audible from inside the house.

"Wow, I actually feel a lot better now, it's amazing wha- oh Zack," Danny seemed slightly surprised as he caught sight of Zack when he came outside but his brow soon furrowed into a glare. "What are you don't here?" he hissed, his hand once again clamping over his mouth, though, surprisingly, it didn't make him look any less threatening as his now visible blue eyes sparked with a fury that Sam couldn't quite understand. "Weren't you supposed to be at the mall, hiding from your mom?" Danny continued and Zack's eyes took on a steely look as he two started glaring.

"At least I didn't lose my mom at the airport and now have to backpack off another family because my parents and I were stupid enough to land on the wrong plane," Zack spat and Danny's face turned white from anger though Sam could see the unbelievable sadness his eyes were now holding as if he somehow felt guilty for ending up on the wrong plane.

"You probably wouldn't be able to survive in another country without your mom," Danny retaliated though his voice came out to weak, making Zack smirk as he turned around and stormed back into the house. A minute later Sam heard Zack's bedroom door close and she let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Danny let out a groan of frustration, pulling Sam's mind and eyes back to the black haired boy, and, for a moment, Sam thought she was looking at Danny Phantom instead of "maid" Danny. Sam quickly shook her head in an effort to clear it.

"I still don't get how you two can be friends," Danny exclaimed as he went back over to the pool and grabbed the pool vacuum before carrying it back to the garden shed. Sam raised an eyebrow at the remark, not remembering ever discussing her relationship with Zack with Danny before.

"Still?" she enquired as she once again joined him at the poolside. Danny didn't reply, instead glaring at the grass for about a minute and glancing up at her once before lowering his gaze again. If Sam hadn't known better, she would've sworn that he was looking at her nervously and had even stolen a glance at her lips.

_Shut up Sam, you're being ridiculous. _

He paused for a few more seconds before his face suddenly lit up. The look she received from him immediately reminded Sam of those mischievous five year old that, even when the get cooking dough on the kitchen walls, still end up looking to cute to punish.

"You know Sam, you're way too uptight," Danny informed her as he kneeled down and the next thing Sam knew, he'd sprayed her with water. Sam gaped at him as he grinned and took off.

"Danny!" Sam screeched as she ran after him glad that she wasn't in the forced position of running in heels. "You jerk, don't think I can't catch up with you just because I'm a girl. You'll get back here and face the consequences, Danny Fenton!" Sam yelled as she chased after him and, to her greatest surprise, the boy stopped and slowly turned around staring at her with a pale, almost green, complexion and a terrified look in his eyes.

"What did you call me?" he whispered so low that Sam wasn't sure she'd heard correctly. Sam frowned, trying to back track through everything she'd said in her mad frenzy. Sam's eyes widened and she felt a blush creep onto her cheeks when she realized what she'd just called him.

"Sorry, slip of the tongue, you know," she quickly apologized and he visible relaxed, giving her a curious look as he stooped down slightly to look her in the eyes. _Wow, he's eyes are really just as beautiful as Danny's ugh I mean Danny Phantom's, _Sam thought to herself, feeling her face grow even hotter as she stared into his amused eyes.

"Why are you blushing, Danny would happen to be more than a friend now would he?" Danny questioned, not sounding nearly as awkward about saying his own name in that sentence as Sam would've expected.

"Maybe, what's it to you?" Sam said, folding her arms as she eyed him suspiciously, what was it with guys and her love life.

"Nothing," he said but he had started to wear a playful grin that told Sam that he still expected an answer, to bad she wasn't planning on giving him one.

"You know, you have terrible sense of timing!" Sam cried out, punching Danny in the arm as she shook a few droplets of water off of her.

"Yeah, so I've been told," Danny laughed looking completely carefree as he threw his hands up in a sign of surrender.

"Yet you still keep on with it?" Sam teased and he laughed even harder. Sam rolled her eyes at his antics but he accidentally walked into a tree and soon she too was rolling on the floor laughing, the feeling was so odd, but, she liked it.

"Don't worry you'll dry off soon enough, Sam," Danny told Sam when they'd finally recovered from their giggle fit.

"Yeah, yeah, just don't do it again," Sam waved him off, once again rolling her eyes as they headed into the house.

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Danny stated though he once again wore that look of thinking of a private joke. Sam had to push aside her annoyance at still not knowing anything about the black haired boy, so she would accidently started demanding he tell her every excruciating detail of his life.

_Great, I'm having better luck figuring out a ghost than a normal teenage boy, go figure,_ Sam thought as she glanced at Danny, trying to figure out what made him so much different than what she was used to.

"Danny dear, you and Tucker have to change for the party and then you can ask Collin if he needs help with anything, I think he said something about bringing some of the platters outside!" Mrs. Connors called just as Sam and Danny were about to sit down in front of the TV. Danny groaned as he stood up again.

"Hey, you shouldn't be so ungrateful she's giving you a place to stay, remember," Sam chided but Danny simply shot her an exaggerated look.

"It's not that, it's more about what I'm being forced to wear," Danny stated and Sam grinned, now that was something she could relate to.

"What, do you have to wear a pink tux?" she joked and Danny's eyes widened in horror.

"Okay, no, it's not that bad…" Danny quickly amended with a small laugh.

"You heard her dude, we gotta go," Tucker said, as he entered the room with a grimace on his face. Sam watched in amused relief as Danny and Tucker headed upstairs, Danny mumbling something about Tucker at least being allowed to wear his beret and Sam snickered as an image of Danny wearing a beret, popped into her head. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view, her thoughts soon turned to more pressing matters.

Why had Phantom kissed her?

_Well, he is a hormonal teenager, a dead one but one none the less, _h_e_r mind reminded her.

_Okay, well, why did I kiss him back? _

_Because I like him, duh! _

_You idiot, you can't like him, he's dead remember. _Sam was feeling pretty depressed by the end of the thought debate but luckily, any further inner conflict was interrupted by a shocked cry, coming from upstairs. Sam froze, before jumping up and rushing upstairs towards the spare room, afraid that another ghost might'veattacked.

Sam was about to just barge in but thought better of it when she realized the two boys were just talking so she knocked instead.

"Danny are you crazy, you know it won't work out?" Tucker's voice scolded.

"Shut up, Tucker," Danny said and Sam stared at the door in confusion as Danny opened it. Sam would probably have gone into a deeper inspection as to what the two boys had been talking about hadn't it been for the fact that she suddenly caught sight of what Danny was wearing. He was in a pair of black dress pants, which would've looked ridiculous on a teenager hadn't Sam been used to seeing it at all of her mom's fancy parties, a black belt, a light-blue button-up shirt which was tucked into his pants and lastly, a smooth black tie.

Sam didn't know whether to laugh or drool, so she settled for the less humiliating option.

"Wow, Danny you look…good" Sam managed to say without cracking up but Danny just glared at her.

"What did I tell you, I look like a total nut," Danny said over his shoulder to Tucker who was dressed similar except he had on a red button-up instead of a blue.

"You look fine Danny," Sam told him, back to her old self. "Besides, between the two of you, you can present the American flag," Sam felt the needed to add this joke and though it was only her grinning at first, Danny and Tucker were soon smiling to.

"Whatever Sam, we'll see you later. Come on Tuck," Danny said, still grinning as he lopped a finger onto his friend's collar and dragged him away before Tucker could protest. Sam was still amused as she watched her two friends, could she really call them that, left.

Yup, tonight might really turn out to be okay.

"Psst, Sam," Sam blinked as she was yanked back into reality by someone calling her name. She turned around and found the culprit to be none other than Tucker himself.

"Do you have a sec?" he questioned.

_Why can't Danny be the one to ask me that? _Sam thought before shoving the thought aside in disgust, she was supposed to like Phantom right?

_Face it Sam, you like maid Danny almost as much as you like Phantom,_ Sam found she didn't want to object to what her heart.

_Ugh, you sound like some sappy romance lover, get a grip,_ another part of Sam chided and she concentrated on that part as she responded.

"Sure, it's not like I'm doing anything exciting at the moment, the better question is, do you," she joked but instead of grinning, Tucker just tapped his foot on the grass and looked around rather nervously.

"Great!" Tucker mumbled and dragged a puzzled Sam into the shadows of a nearby tree.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Sam asked feeling slightly anxious as she analyzed the scene, hoping she had the wrong idea.

"Right, look it's about-" Tucker stopped staring at Sam as if he was contemplating something.

"You know I'm not going to ask you out, right?" he asked suddenly, looking a bit appalled by the idea.

"I wasn't worried about that you idiot!" Sam lied, waking him over the head for good measure before folding her arms and staring him down in a well-get-on-with-it type of gesture.

"I wanted to talk to you about Danny," he paused, probably to assess Sam's reaction but she just blinked. "So you like him?" Sam was slightly taken aback by his straightforward questioning and unfortunately lost her battle at hiding it.

"No-o, wha-what makes you say that?" Sam stuttered, wanting to slap herself for how stupid her response sounded, she _didn't_ have feelings for Danny, did she?

"Ugh, that's just great, you like him to, I knew we shouldn't have gone in, I knew it, but he just had to insist!" Tucker ranted but Sam was only half listening, most of her mind still focused or the "you like him to" part of Tucker's outburst.

"Hold on Tuck, what are you trying to say?" Sam demanded in a cautious voice.

"Danny likes you, there, I said it!" Tucker said, throwing his hands in the air as if giving up on something.

"Don't joke around about it Tucker," Sam hissed after recovering from her initial shock of being told something like this, and unbelievably happy though she denied this fact.

"I'm not joking Sam, he told me himself," Tucker called out looking exasperate.

"Then aren't you violating some guy trust rule by telling me this?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow rather calmly while inside battling to squish the ray of hope that Tucker might be telling the truth.

Sam hadn't had too good a love life though she had had a few boyfriends it had of course ended in heartbreak, of course it would, she was only just a teenager.

"No, look Sam, I was really hoping you'd say no to liking him so could you just, I don't know, tell him that you like someone else or something." Tucker didn't sound too sure of himself and the glare Sam was sending his way obviously wasn't helping.

"Why would I do that?" Sam demanded, infuriated that he could even suggest something like that.

"Look Sam, it's complicated, Danny can't fall in love right now but he doesn't seem to get that! I thought _you'd _be able to talk some sense into him, but apparently not," Sam stared for a few seconds stunned, she hadn't know it was possible for Tucker to sound so hostile.

Oh no, forbidden love, the thing Sam hated the most. Sure it was nice enough to read about it and then pity the poor people who'd been dumb enough to fall for each other, but having it happen to you, well, it pretty much sucked.

"Well, if he isn't supposed to fall in love then I'm sure he won't, Danny's a big boy and he can take care of himself," Sam spat, upset as it suddenly dawned on her that her love life was yet again not working out even if she'd just started considering it a few seconds ago. Tucker looked about ready to protest but paused as a thoughtful look made its way onto his face.

"If you like him, why don't we three hang out tomorrow, we could go to a restaurant or something and just relax?" Sam had the sudden urge to ask him if he was bipolar because with his mood swings, Sam's suddenly seemed tame.

"Tucker, did your mother drop you when you were a baby, we're teenagers, so he has a little crush on me-" _And me on him, _Sam couldn't help adding in her mind. "-we'll get over it, there's no reason to try and force it to work when it's clear that it would never in a million years, work out" Sam told him, trying to smile. _Besides, I don't want to take a chance on being left behind, especially after Ethan, Tom and Robert not to mention my three or four crushes I had back in fourth grade,_ Sam thought bitterly as she turned around and started walking away, expecting to feel Tucker's objecting hand on her shoulder, but it never happened. Sam felt like crying at the thought of distancing herself from Danny, but according to Tucker, he wasn't supposed to be in a relationship right now so it wouldn't work. And Sam could get over him, right?

Sam found herself observing Danny as he made his way through all the people, offering snacks like Mrs. Connors had asked him to. He was smiling which Sam found weird considering it seemed so sincere yet Sam couldn't for the life of her, figure out what would make him this happy.

Danny seemed to have noticed Sam was staring and grinned at her as if say: "Jeez these people are strange but at least they're sort of amusing," and Sam couldn't help smiling in return though her heart wasn't really in it. She suspected that Danny had noticed because he started making his way towards her. Sam was watching him approach when she felt someone's hand grab her own and Sam spun around to find her face inches from Zack's. She instinctively tried to take a step back but Zack simply wrapped an arm around her waist and smiled cockily at her.

"Zack, what are you doing?" Sam whispered as she tried to push him away from her.

"Don't worry Sam," he whispered back, his cold breath sending unpleasant shivers down her spin. "People, if I can like, um get your attention please!" Zack called and Sam frowned, did he just say _like_?

"Sam you're a wonderful girl and I just want to say that you mean absolutely everything to me," the entire time Zack was sprouting love words, Sam just stared at him, wanting to choke on air from the shock of what she was hearing. Was Zack going mental, they practically hated each other. "Sam, while you marry me?" these words caught Sam's attention and she felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach.

Her disbelieving eyes found Danny's. He himself looked like he was suffering from emotional and physical pain, stumping Sam so much that she could only open and close her mouth like a goldfish. She looked back at Zack and herself giving him a simple yes. Sam was frozen in place, unsure of why she'd said yes, but, for the sake of her sanity quickly concluded that it would be best to play along with whatever was going on until she could get Zack alone.

Maybe he just needed a good whack on the head…with a baseball bat or bulldozing ball or a drop from a few hundred feet in the air without a parachute. Sam felt her stomach flip and twist as she watched Danny turn around and walk brusquely into the house the last view of his eyes showed her that they had turned glassy. Why did this have to happen now?

**Okay, I'm glad you don't know my address or you'd probably try to kill me, but seriously, don't go freaking out. Look at the top of the story and tell me if you see any words that resemble Angst and Tragedy. Its true there's Drama in this story but drama is one hundred percent part of life so just get over it and review with whatever comments you deem reasonable though I'd prefer if you refrained from using F*** or anything along those lines. Thanks, also sorry to those who like pink tuxs but I seriously just can't see Danny in one, can you?**


	15. Chapter 15

**Finally, I can't believe it took me this long to update but I'm really sorry about leaving it on a cliffy like that and then not updating for two weeks, blame my school and the all the work they want us to do, it's ridiculous and an absolute pain in the neck. Anyway, thanks to VampireFrootloopsRule, kittyhawk09, Oak Leaf Ninja and Skye of the Night for reviewing and thanks to JessicaTaylorLyoko, KPtwistepghost and narnianerd96 for adding my story to your list. Anyway, on with the chapter.**

Chapter 15: Fury Fight

Danny felt as if Dan had shoved the time medallion back into his chest as he rushed into the house and up the stairs. The only difference between the two feelings was the fact that he didn't pass out from the pain even though it felt like he should've.

The aching in his heart reminded him strongly of how he'd felt when he'd watched his parents, Jazz, Tucker and yes, Mr. Lancer too, being blown up in the alternate universe.

_Get a grip, Danny. You're a teenager, you're not supposed to fall in love when you just finished puberty. Get over it. It's probably better this way anyway, now you can get back to your time without worry about her, _Danny's mind reasoned but, as cheesy as it sounded, his heart simply refused to listen. It was still crying out for the girl he had only known for a few days. Danny gave himself a watery smile as he pressed his head against the wall before he started banging it repeatedly against the bricks, the temptation to great to resist.

"Stupid, why did you have to go and fall for the one girl who is, and always will be, off limits?" he muttered as he continued to bang his head against the wall. He paused as the image of Sam's face shifted to the front of his mind.

It didn't make sense; Sam had looked about ready to slap Zack senseless when he'd interrupted them earlier and she'd been furious with Danny when he tried to suggest that she and Zack were boyfriend and girlfriend, yet she'd gone ahead and said yes the moment he'd asked her to marry him! Danny could never understand how girls worked, and who gets married when they're fifteen anyway?

_Rich people, apparently,_ Danny thought miserable as he turned, resting his back against the wall and allowed himself to glare at the floor.

"Man that sucks. You okay?" Tucker's voice asked and in his peripherals Danny saw Tucker coming over and leaning next to him.

"Do I look okay, Tuck?" Danny demanded harshly, turning his glare on his friend, who cringed at the sight.

"Sorry, standard question," he apologized shoulder slumping as he shuffled around awkwardly under his friend's scrutinizing gaze. Danny sighed at the sight of his friend's discomfort and slipped his gaze back towards the ground. "It just doesn't make sense, she told me she thought she might like you," Tucker mused, sounding like he was frowning, which he probably was.

"You told her!" Danny yelled, his eyes snapping back up to Tucker as he balled his fists, his face going red from both anger and embarrassment.

"It was necessary, dude!" Tucker defended himself, holding his hands up in front of him.

"Great, she probably hates me now, no wonder she said yes to Zack, she was probably desperate to get away from me," Danny groaned, burying his head in his hands.

"Not true man, she wouldn't have kissed you if she thought that of you," Tucker protested with a shake of his head and Danny scowled at his friend's obliviousness.

"She doesn't know it was _me, _Tucker," Danny attempted to hiss but his voice came out more miserable than threatening.

"Come on, Danny, Sam would never do something as rash as to marry Zack, even if she didn't like you back," Tucker reasoned, moving his arms around for emphasis.

"Oh yeah? How would you know?" Danny spat and the pricking feeling at the back of his eyeballs told him that his eyes were glowing green from anger.

"Don't you feel it, Danny? The way we can converse so easily with her, as if we've known each other for years? I don't know how, but I know Sam's not that type of person," Tucker explained in a low voice, stunning Danny so much that his eyes reverted back to normal. Of course Danny had felt it, a few times actually, but he'd never considered the possibility of Tucker experiencing it too considering Sam and Tucker had barely spoken since they'd met.

_Then again, he did just tell Sam about my crush on her,_ Danny remembered but immediately pushed the bitterness towards his friend away, he didn't need to go back to square one. "Okay, fine. I'll try to find out what's going on when I visit her tonight as Phantom," Danny sighed in defeat, feeling a stab at his heart at the thought of having to talk to Sam again so soon.

"Good. But until then, I'll waiter where Sam is and you can waiter where Sam's not" Tucker offered and Danny nodded slightly in agreement glad that Tucker was there to help but also dreading every second of what was to come.

This was going to be a long night.

The night had, so far, been horrible.

Danny kept on feeling Sam's eyes on him but he'd ended up avoiding her whenever she succeeded in escaping from the adults and tried to make her way towards him. Eventually she seemed to get the message and stopped and, even though he found it relieving, a small part of him had wished she hadn't. Danny wished she'd come up to him and denied what had happened or told him that her parents were forcing her to do it, but he was also afraid that her response would be the exact opposite of that.

It was real life after all and they were teenagers without much power to control what was going on around them; there was no rule that stated that he and Sam had to be together, so why would it work out?

_I really could use Jazz's advice right now, _Danny thought as he came to a halt and stared down at the house Sam had given him the address to. Taking a deep breath Danny searched the windows until he came to the right one and phased through the wall catching his breath, in awe and shock.

Sam's room consisted of black and purple and was unbelievably huge with a massive stereo blasting music out at full volume. Sam lay face down on her bed, body shaking with unheard sobs.

"Sam, you okay?" Danny mumbled, cringing at the question and the fact that he already knew the answer. Luckily though, because of the music, Sam didn't seem to have realized that he was there yet. "Sam?" he tried again as he lowered the volume of the music.

Danny watched Sam's head snapping up and around to look at him.

"Danny," she managed to choke out, the slight light of the moon and Danny's glowing eyes revealing her own eyes to be red and puffy. "What are you doing here?" she asked looking pained.

Danny sighed as he sat cross-legged on the end of her bed and stared at her.

"You told me to come at midnight, remember?" Danny stated, trying to make his voice light. Sam didn't react, instead choosing to stare at him, seeming to be contemplating something.

"Danny, I'm really sorry but you need to leave, my life's just too complicated right now for you to be a part of it to," Sam whispered, sending Danny reeling. Danny stared at her for a full minute before his anger kicked in.

"Are you kidding me Sam, you're just sending me away? How could your life suddenly get so complicated that it can't have a _ghost _in it?" Danny demanded, glaring.

"It's difficult, you obviously wouldn't be able to understand since I'm sure everything was so much easier when you were alive!" Sam spat, obviously ticked off.

"Try me, Sam. Explain to me how you could have kissed me this afternoon yet now you want absolutely nothing to do with me!" Danny said, getting in her face. Sam blushed but didn't seem any less furious.

"It has nothing to do with you so leave, now!" Sam hissed, clenching her fists as she glared at him.

"It has everything to do with me, despite what you might think, ghosts have feelings to yah know? Did you really think I wouldn't be upset when I found out that the person I liked said yes to another guy asking her to _marry _him?" Danny was starting to feel a hot sensation all over his body, an indication that his newly discovered fire power was going to act up if he didn't calm down.

"How you know about that?" Sam screeched, her face dangerously close to him as she poked his chest.

"I have my ways! Why'd you do it Sam, I thought… I thought you liked me…" Danny officially hated how weak he sounded while asking that but there was no going back and he felt close to losing all and any control he still had over himself. Sam seemed hurt as well but her answer leaked rage.

"You said it yourself, Danny, you're a ghost," she spat at him. "What kind of future would I have with such a creature!" Danny's heart sank at the last few words.

_Creature_ he didn't even seem to qualify as human in Sam's eyes. Danny stared at her, her hand clamped over her mouth as if she'd just realized what she said, regret blazing in her eyes. Danny swallowed down his tears and hoped against hope that he hadn't misinterpreted what he was seeing.

"I know you don't think that of me, and if you really do, then I'm sorry I grossed you out but I'm still going to be here to protect you, I'll just stay out of your way from now on" Danny gulped before turning Intangible and invisible and leaving, his heart in a million pieces and his muscles aching from the effort of keeping his powers bottled up.

Despite how he felt, he knew he would never be able to leave Sam in harms why…

**Okay, well, that's it. I know it was short but at least it's published. Okay, PLEASE review even if it's just to accuse me of something, I just want to know how many readers I lost because of the last chapter. Also, PM me if you have suspicions about where the story is going, so far I only know of one reader who figured it out though I hope there's more. Please review and I hope you enjoyed the update. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Wow I can't believe the story is almost done. Inspiration suddenly struck and I finished this chapter early though I don't know if I'll be updating again this week but yeah. Thanks to TurnDreamsIntoReality, VampireFrootloopsRule, Oak Leaf Ninja,** **seantriana for reviewing and vampirehamster for adding my story to your list. Also, thanks to TurnDreamsIntoReality, VampireFrootloopsRule and Oak Leaf Ninja for staying such loyal readers.**

Chapter 16: Revelations

Danny's life had turned into personal torture. Danny's mood had been going from bad to worse with every passing day since Zack had somehow found out about Danny sneaking out at midnight and Mrs. Connors had freaked, saying that she was responsible for Danny's well-being till his parents came to get him and Tucker and that as punishment, Danny had to do most of the chores and was forbidden from going outside.

Danny didn't really blame her, she, unlike her son, was caring and Danny felt almost bad for making her worry but he was to miserable to do more than nod whenever she gave him instructions about what he was supposed to do, or asked him if he was okay.

As for Sam, she seemed to have decided that it would be best to give him the cold shoulder, glaring at him whenever the opportunity presented itself and otherwise ignoring him if he was unfortunate enough to end up in the same room as her. It felt like a stab wound every time she reminded him of what he would never have.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry Danny, I thought for sure you two would be able to work things out." Tucker, unfortunately, had been on a guilt-trip since Thursday night, after Danny told him what had happened at Sam's house, believing that it was his motivation that had caused it all. It was already Monday afternoon and he was still at it!

"It's not your fault Tucker. My luck just really sucks … or so I've been told," Danny mumbled, patting his friend on the back.

"Maybe I can go talk to her…" Tucker suggested and Danny's eyes widened in horror, no way would he be able to stand it if he got brushed off again, even if it was indirectly.

"No Tucker, you better not," Danny said a bit more firmly, contemplating violence if it meant keeping him in the house.

"But I want to help," Tucker insisted, sounding like a whining child.

"There's nothing for it Tuck, she doesn't want to see me again," Danny argued, giving Tucker a warning look to drop the subject.

"Alright boys, I'm seeing a friend over coffee so I'll be back around five, Danny, no leaving the house," Mrs. Connors reminded Danny, for an instant, making him think of his mother and the way she would usually tell him to watch out for ghosts.

"Yes Mrs. Connors," Danny said with a nod of his head while Mrs. Connors smiled approvingly at his obedience. Just as Mrs. Connors turned around, Zack, stepped through the door landing another few blows to Danny's already foul mood.

"Hi dear, I was just about to leave. How was the fieldtrip?" Mrs. Connor's asked and Zack frowned.

"It was like, totally boring. It's stupid," he claimed in an obnoxious voice, making Danny seethe.

"Okay well, do your homework, there's food in the fridge and I'll be back around five so have fun," Mrs. Connors said in a hurried voice, patting Zack's shoulder before heading out.

"Like homework can be fun," Tucker muttered so only Danny could hear. Danny grinned slightly, hoping that Zack suffered as much as possible while doing his homework. Unfortunately, the moment the door closed Zack turned his sneer on Danny.

"You're losing your edge kid," he said, causing Danny to stare at him, taken aback and confused by his words.

"Wha-what do you mean?" Danny was almost too afraid to ask as a sudden cold feeling crept into his stomach. The two boys watched Zack's eyes turn from their usual green to a dark, almost dull, green.

"You really think this punk would've proposed to the Goth out of his own free will, or that she would've said yes on her own?" Zack asked with a roll of his eyes, as if Danny was missing something obvious. But it wasn't Zack talking anymore, his voice had changed instead, to the annoying sound of Johnny 13's voice.

"Johnny! You took over Sam's body?" Danny yelled, his hands shaking from the rage he was feeling.

"To make her say yes," Johnny/Zack agreed sounding indifferent. "No need for me to stay any longer, after all, her parents won't allow her to back out after she agreed." Johnny/Zack smirked and Danny glared, his eyes burning as they lit up.

Danny felt horrible, Sam really hadn't wanted to marry Zack yet Danny had brushed her aside. No wonder she was angry with him.

"But Danny trapped you in the thermos!" Tucker exclaimed, before shrinking back at the look Johnny/Zack was sending him.

"You really think the old grandpa's thermos would still be able to capture us after a hundred years? Sure it can suck us in but we only stay trapped for an hour before it releases us again," Johnny/Zack gloated, causing Danny to grit his teeth.

"Why Johnny? Sam never did anything to you?" Danny demanded, terrified of the answer he would receive.

"Oh, it's just to keep you busy kid, we've got bigger plan for you," Johnny said, grinning evilly before turning around and heading upstairs with a victorious tilt to his head that Danny sometime saw Vlad wearing.

Danny felt about ready to punch the guy senseless but he held himself back because of Johnny's threat, why did Sam have to get tangled up in all of this anyway?

"That jerk!" Danny exclaimed, balling his fists as he brought them down against the living room wall, causing a dull thump to echo around the house from the action.

"Come on, Danny, it's just Johnny. I mean, all he can really do is to anger Kitty and steal Sam," Tucker tried to soothe his friend, earning a pointed glare instead. "Right, this is bad!" Tucker corrected when he realized his mistake.

Danny groaned at his friend's hopelessness before sinking onto the lowest step of the stairs and burying his face in his hands. Danny's eyes changed back to normal and he was about to start sulking when the doorbell decided to ring. The half-ghost stared at it in sheer disbelief, why did a person have to show up NOW. Danny's gaze flitted to Tucker who was making no move to answer the stupid door so Danny was forced to stand up.

Danny grumbled to Tucker as he opened the door and froze. Sam stood there, looking just as shocked as Danny felt and looking as beautiful as ever.

"Sam, what are you doing here?" Danny demanded rather nervously, not wanting Sam anywhere near Zack after what he'd just discovered. Sure he hadn't wanted her near the brat before but now he had reason not to. Sam quickly recovered from her surprise and her gaze soon hardened into a glare as her hands clenched.

"You little twerp!" she yelled before her hand shot out and she grabbed a fist full of Danny's shirt. The dark haired teen had no time to react as she marched inside, heading towards the kitchen and dragging Danny behind her. Danny desperately tried to pray Sam's steel fingers off his shirt without success while shooting a pleading look at Tucker who was tagging along looking confused and making no effort to help his distressed friend.

"_I want to help" my foot,_ Danny thought at his glare shifted from Sam to Tucker and back again.

Danny cried out in surprise when he was shoved into the laundry room, shortly followed by Tucker who sent them both to the ground when he crashed into Danny. Sam stood towering over the two, hands on her hips and looking fiercer than ever before.

"Danny James Fenton, how did you get your ghostly butt into the future!" Sam demanded causing both boys' jaws to drop.

How the heck had she figured that one out?

**Okay, so tell me, was it any good and no I don't think I rushed it but you'll just have to wait and see to how Sam figured out Danny's second secret but feel free to PM me if you think you might have an idea. Please review and I hope you enjoyed it even though it was short. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Okay wow, I did not expect this much inspiration but I'm glad for it. I feel great about it all and I got so many new people who favored and alerted this story, it's awesome. Thanks to kittyhawk09, respect and love and VampireFrootloopsRule for reviewing and thanks to raethewriter, FangirlStephie and Dawn on fire for adding my story to your list. Also, big thanks to laurwall for adding my story to your favourites and alerts and for adding me as an author to your favorites and alerts and then reviewing as well, it's really flattering so thanks again. Well, hope you enjoy the chapter. **

Chapter 17: Half Way Solved

Sam was not one for surprises, and Danny Fenton…Phantom, whatever, was definitely full of them.

The school fieldtrip that had been planned for today had turned out a lot more eventful and enlightening than Sam could ever have predicted. Instead of going to Amity Times' head office to see how the newspads worked and how "the individual jobs of the workers contributed to the final product" as Mrs. Marks had lectured them the previous Wednesday, they had gone to the one place that had practically started Sam on her little adventure with a certain white haired and green eyed boy.

Yes, that's right, apparently a notification had been sent out to all parents and Sam, along with her entire grade had been piled into green school buses before heading to the one and only, Fenton Works. Sam had practically cringed at the thought of going back to the place where she'd seen her first ghost and she could only hope and pray that Mr. Statford wouldn't go and point her out as having visited before. She really did not need the eyes of her fellow classmates on her when she already had the entire town's adults fawning over her for getting married to Zack, blagh!

Sam thought back to Thursday night when she'd tried to confront Zack about his proposing stunt but apparently he was dead serious about it all. Sam grounded her teeth, the coward was probable just too afraid to say no to her mother, who could probably not have looked happier than she did that night, though the shopping sprees for the wedding dress that they were already going on, came close enough to it.

Anyway, they'd arrived at Fenton Works and Mr. Statford had kindly ignored her and instead given the classes and the two chaperones, a tour of the house. He explained about Mr. and Mrs. Fenton's ventures into ghost hunting and Jazz's earlier denial that they were her parents. Then Sam, along with the more decent members of her grade had had bowed their heads at the mention of the disappearance of Danny Fenton and Sam had felt an awful wrenching feeling in her stomach at the reminder of the human turned half ghost. Strangely enough, the memory of the still alive Danny had stayed close behind Phantom's as if a hidden part of her mind had already made the connection without her consciousness realizing it.

Of course, now she knew better, Danny Phantom had personally admitted to being Danny Fenton and he'd even explained what had happened to put him in those circumstances, so when they got to the second floor of the Fenton house and Sam noticed a photo of the Fenton family stuck on the wall, her first reaction had been to almost collapse from shock.

Standing in between a red haired woman and black haired man and next to a red haired girl, looking unbelievably miserable except for the happiness displayed in his eyes, was the Danny that was currently playing maid for the Connors. Sam's head had spun with confusion, a headache accompanying it all. Yup, Daniel James Fenton, for Sam had finally learned his full name, loved confusing her. Finally, Sam had come to the conclusion that Danny was from the past, hey, if ghosts could exist, why not time travelling. It would explain why he sometimes talked in a slightly old-fashioned way and why he'd known about Cinderella, a really, really old fairytale. Sam could probably have gone with the option of his body being frozen in time because of his ghost half, had it not been for the fact that Tucker Foley, his apparent best friend, still seemed to be alive and well even though he was supposed to be 115 years old.

_Well, Manson, you asked for an adventure and you got it, now deal with it,_ she told herself as firmly as possible before intensifying the glare she was giving the two boys currently still lying at her feet.

"How did you-" Tucker started while getting up only to have his feet knocked out from under him once again by Danny who shot him an apologetic look before struggling to his feet. He blinked at Sam and even had the nerve to raise his hands as if innocent.

"Sam, what are you talking about?" Danny asked, his voice wavering only slightly, but otherwise it would've been impossible to tell that he was lying. Unfortunately for him, Sam had seen the picture with her own eyes and had taken a photo of it with her cellphone so there was no way she would be backing down from this.

"Don't you dare try that on me Daniel Fenton-" man she loved the way his full name sounded on her tongue. _Focus Sam!_ "-I saw a photo of you in your parents' house and there is no way you could be _just related _to him. That's also why Mr. Statford looks like an older version of you isn't it, he's your great-great-grandcousin or something." it wasn't a question. "Also, Phantom started showing up around the same time as you did so there no way that just coincidence, there are no coincidences where you're involved. No wonder you had so many Fenton gadgets as Phantom, you had direct access to them." Sam suppressed a slight grin before paling as she realized something that she knew she should've realized the moment she saw the picture on the Fentons' wall.

She felt flames suddenly leaking at her cheeks as her hand unconsciously went to her lips. The Danny standing in front of her had also been the one too kiss her and then saw her saying yes to Zack when he'd asked her to marry him. No wonder he was angry, but why had she said yes to Zack in the first place?

Sam felt instantly guilty as she stared at Danny who was also turning a dark shade of red when he noticed Sam's hand going to her lips. Sam bit her lip self-consciously and awkwardly looked away, too flushed and uncertain to continue with her interrogation.

Luckily she didn't seem to have to, since Danny's voice suddenly filled the laundry room.

"I'm sorry, Sam, you're right. I don't give you enough credit, you'd make a really good detective," Sam could hear the grin in his voice but didn't have the courage to look at him just yet. "Tucker and I went into the Ghost Zone and accidently got into a chase with Skulker and the Johnny from my time and we ended up going really deep into the Ghost Zone. I commandeered Johnny's bike but we sort of entered Clockwork's, the ghost of time's, castle and got sent here," Danny explained and Sam stared wide eyed at the floor, shocked but relieved to finally have some answers. "We should've been transported directly back to our time since we don't really belong here but I think Clockwork slipped some Time Medallions into us before we crash landed here so we can't go back to our time, not without his help." Danny continued and Sam's heart reached out to him, he and Tucker had somehow stayed strong even though they were trapped in the future.

Sam gasped and looked up when something else suddenly fell into place.

"Tha-that motorbike accident you mention, the cut wasn't from your crash here was it?" Sam asked, eyeing his completely healed arm. Danny let out a nervous chuckle while Tucker simply gapped at her in utter disbelief.

"Yeah it was, we landed in Mrs. Connors' basement and ended up stealing some clothes and money" Danny looked absolutely guilt-ridden as he admitted the last part and Sam couldn't decide whether to feel angry with him or not. In the end, Sam just shook it off, it was obvious that it wasn't what he normally did and that he regretted it.

"I-I'm so sorry Sam, I know you probably think of me as a monster but we didn't really have a choice and Zack didn't still doesn't know that the clothes we took went missing and it's back in his closet now," Sam saw the desperation in his eyes as he rattled on and her own widened, though she felt slight amusement that he had misinterpreted her reaction.

She grinned to show that she didn't really mind and his relief was evident. Sam felt herself being engulfed in a hug but was too surprised to react to Danny's warm and comfortable embrace. Unfortunately, it was over to quickly as he pulled away, his face so red it would embarrass a tomato.

"So, is there a way for you to get back to your time?" Sam questioned though the idea of having Danny and Tucker leave made her stomach tighten and start doing little, nauseating flips.

"I think so, it's just that I've been delaying it because off…" he trailed off, the color in his cheeks flaming up again.

"Right um…" Sam stuttered in an effort to say something to get the awkwardness to disappear but of course, it didn't work.

"Well, I suppose I'll go and have a talk with Clockwork, maybe he can get us back to our time or at least tell us what he wants us to do before he can allow us to go back," Danny said rubbing the back of his neck uncertainly. Sam nodded and Tucker grinned.

"Yeah, you go do that. I'll just stay here, away from all the green ectoplasm," Tucker said, moving his arms around for emphasis. Danny rolled his eyes, apparently used to the way Tucker was acting.

"O-kay, but on one condition, you explain to Sam what's going on with Zack." Sam fought the urge to glare at the mention of his name but her curiosity peaked at the suggestion that they knew something about Zack that Sam didn't. Tucker paled and looked about ready to object, but stopped when he saw the strange and seemingly pleading look Danny was sending him, could it really be that bad?

"Fine," Tucker grumbled though he didn't really sound like it was _fine_ with him.

"Thanks," Danny said with a weak smile before shifting his footing. Sam watched with wide and amazed eyes as to white blue rings appeared around Danny's lean body, before they travelled upwards and downwards, changing Danny's casual clothes into the familiar black and white suit that Sam knew to be Danny Phantom's.

_Is it just me or does he look hotter than usual?_ Sam couldn't help wondering as she suddenly took notice of all the similarities between Phantom and Fenton. _I guess when you're not looking for it, you really don't see what's right in front of you,_ Sam decided, smiling at her hero as he turned intangible and flew through the roof. Sam watched the spot where he'd disappeared for a few more minutes before shifting her gaze back to the African American.

"Now, what's this you have to tell me about Zack?" Sam questioned and Tucker gulped audible, as if Sam had just sentenced him to death.

_Sam Manson, what have you got yourself into_.

**Okay, well that's it for now, I think, if I'm lucky, I'll be able to update next week though, please don't count on it. At least this chapter didn't end on a cliffy to I'm not being mean if I can't update this coming week but please review in anyway and tell me if you're happy about what happened and if your glad that Sam and Danny made up. Also, I hope that clears up about Sam's reaction in the last chapter. Thanks and please review. **


	18. Chapter 18

**Admit, I'm practically on a role with all the updates I've been doing even though I'm really busy though there weren't a lot of reviews on the last chapter, which kinda worries me, am I losing my readers or something? Anyway to those who are still sticking around, thanks. Also, thanks to Oak Leaf Ninja and Skye of the Night for reviewing and whirlgirl for adding my story to their list**.

Chapter 18: Beginning of the End Part 1

"Wait, so Johnny 13 is currently in Zack and I agreed to marry him!" Sam exclaimed, staring at Tucker in utter disbelief. Tucker cringed, probably at the murderous look displayed on Sam's face. "The stupid jerk, why did he have to go and mess with my life, he just loves ruining everything, doesn't he?" Sam snarled, glaring at the stairs before starting to march towards them.

_I really should've hit him with a bat when I had the chance, _Sam scowled, feeling a hand clamp down on her wrist.

"Sam, don't. We don't want to mess up even more of the future before Clockwork explains why he brought us here in the first place," Tucker said sounding desperate but firm. Sam glared down at Tucker's hand before shifting her gaze onto the person himself.

"Let go of me, Tucker," Sam hissed through clenched teeth.

"No, Sam, we have to wait," Tucker insisted, his grip on her arm, tightening.

"No! Do you have any idea what kind of hell my life's been like!" Sam yelled at him, managing to jerk her arm free in her rage. "I've been suffering all my life, and then you and Danny had to come along and ruin it even further," Sam accused, still glaring.

"You don't mean that Sam, I know you love Danny and I hope you at least care for me. You're just afraid of being abandoned," Tucker said, causing Sam to stare, feeling as if the wind has just been knocked out of her. Sam angrily wiped away the tears that were now spilling from her eyes.

"How can I not be? The first people who actually seem to understand me and see me as a person, and they're from the freakin' past!" Sam growled, her face red as she glared at Tucker with furious and pleading eyes.

"This isn't right Sam, you-you…" Tucker seemed to be struggling to find the right words. "You weren't supposed to be here Sam" Tucker said, but he seemed almost in awe about it, as if he couldn't really believe it himself.

Sam felt something too, something almost like an adrenaline rush, bringing along a life time of memories that squared themselves to those already present, presenting an alternative for almost every event in her life. Sam staggered back in shock, unable to understand how she could have two sets of memories that seemed to have nothing to do with one another yet also seemed to have everything to do with the other.

There was one memory of Sam, Tucker and Danny together in kindergarten! Then "right next to that" was another, more real memory of Sam alone in kindergarten. Sam looked up and shared a look with a stunned Tucker.

"Tucker, what's going on?" Sam asked, her voice coming out as shaky as her legs felt. Tucker seemed absolutely speechless before comprehension lit up his eyes.

"I think I might have a theory," he considered while tapping his chin. Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a strange and definitely disturbing crack resounding in the hall. Tucker's head snapped up towards the ceiling where the chandelier seemed to be shuddering.

Tucker cried out as he lurched forward and knocked a surprised Sam off her feet. The next thing Sam knew, there was an earsplitting sound and Sam was yanked even further to the side. Sam's face met with the carpet and she stared at the whiteness in an absolute daze. Something gripped Sam by the elbows and hauled her to her feet. The hands shifted from her elbows to her shoulders, which they shook lightly.

Sam stared blankly ahead before noticing that Tucker's worried face was hovering in front of her own. Shaking off the haze her mind was in, Sam looked over her shoulder at the broken chandelier, it's used to be, hanging crystals scattered all over the floor.

"I just remembered; you helped the two punks hunt us down didn't you?" a echoing, yet familiar voice asked and a few seconds later, Zack came floating through the ceiling. Sam gapped at her _fiancé's _glowing eyes and almost laughed when a shoe flew through the air and smacked him in the face, sending him sprawling to the ground, passed out.

"Come on!" Tucker exclaimed before taking of at a slow-paced sprint that Sam easily caught up on.

"Are you used to this or something?" Sam demanded, as they raced out of the house.

"Actually, we both are, or at least that's what my memory's telling me," Tucker huffed as the came to a stop a little ways down the sidewalk.

"Where are we going in anyway?" Sam suddenly questioned as Tucker hailed a cab and ushered her inside.

"Fenton Works, either we need Danny or we need weapons." Tucker explained as they drove father away from the Connors' ruined house.

The cab had barely stopped before the teens were out of the car and rushing towards the brownstone with the old fashioned spaceship on top, or the Ops center as Sam's new memory seemed to _remember _it. Sam was about to comment on how often she'd been here in the past week but realized that it really wasn't much compared to her other memory, she and Danny really did seem like good friends from what the memories were telling her. Tucker rang the doorbell but it soon became evident that no one was there as they waited in silence without anything happening.

Sam rolled her eyes when a stupid sounding evil laugh became audible.

However, what Sam didn't expect was the sudden tug at her leg before she and Tucker were lifted off of the ground. Sam felt a strange almost tingling feeling in the pit of her stomach and watched as Tucker turned transparent.

There was a second were everything seemed to turn black and then a dull grey and suddenly they were sitting on their butts in front of a glowing Ghost Zone Portal. Sam rubbed her sore backside and was just about to glare Johnny 13, the culprit of both the evil laugh and the momentary intangibility, to death when her eyes caught onto something white and glowing.

"Danny!" Sam and Tucker both exclaimed, staring in horror at their semi-unconscious friend, who had his eyes half closed and his back leaning against the wall where he sat.

_No, no, no! What did Johnny do to him?_

**Okay, there it is. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE remember to review. I'm just as desperate as I sound.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay, since I'm unlucky enough to be going on a camping trip tomorrow, I decided that I had to at least update before I left since it would be cruel to leave you hanging for almost two weeks so I think I'm being fair. Thanks to lucky11gray, Oak Leaf Ninja, seantriana,** **Turkeyhead987,** **VampireFrootloopsRule, Pheek and Melodyrose621 for reviewing and lurkerlaine,** **Sesshomaruslover1999, Pheek and Melodyrose621 for adding my story to your list. I just have to add that I don't think I've ever received so many reviews for one of these chapter before and it pleased me to no end. Here, enjoy. **

Chapter 19: Beginning of the End part 2

Danny shot up out of the Connors' house into the air, where he hovered for a few seconds before firing off towards is old home. His heart felt light from the realization that Sam hadn't abandoned him after realizing that he was not only a ghost but from the past as well, yet at the same time, his heart seemed heavier than ever before. Sam's acceptance of him made even the thought of leaving her, seem unbearable.

Danny felt a sudden surge of guilt as his thoughts turned to Tucker. The techie had been surprisingly patient with Danny while he'd been struggling with his love problems and all Danny had done was to get angry at him for trying to help.

"If it wasn't for me and my problems we could've been home a long time ago," Danny scolded himself before taking a sharp dive through the Ops centre. Te sudden change of scenery that occurred whenever he flew through object, had always been exhilarating in some way or other and right now it helped cheer him up a bit as he flew through the second and first floor before finally reaching the basement.

Danny was forced to duck in behind a work bench when he caught sight of Daniel Statford and a younger man with black hair and brown eyes, probably his son, moving around in the lab as they worked. "We better finish up soon or mum'll start calling and ranting about dinner," the young man said, his voice betraying a strong British accent and Mr Statford nodded in agreement, a small smile tugging at his mouth. Danny frowned, he couldn't wait but…

With a quick and guilty glance at the floor, Danny moved from his hiding place and swiftly allowed himself to laps into Mr Statford's body. Danny felt the familiar buzzing, almost numbing sensation as Mr Statford's body adjusted to its guest. Clearing his throat, the halfa changed his voice to what he thought to be a good imitation of Mr Statford's. He hated the fact that he wasn't yet able to control another person's vocal cords.

"Actually, I think we better get going. You wouldn't mind driving would you. I'm a bit tired and I'm afraid I might just fall asleep at the wheel," Danny said hesitantly, a nervous chuckle accompanying the story. _Why do they have to be here now? _Danny thought sourly, unconsciously holding his breath as he waited for the young man's response. He gave Danny a strange look before understanding seemed to cross his face.

"I thought you promised mum no late hours?" the man accused, catching Danny by surprise. Danny felt a drop of sweat slide down the side of his face as he let out another nervous chuckle and easily managed to look guilty.

"Well, you know me," Danny said, struggling to control his voice as he ushered his _son_ up the basement steps. The young man laughed, nodding his head in a manner that told you he was taking a trip down memory lane. Danny made sure to lock every door presented to him with the keys hid fished out his coat pocket, trying to act the way he imagined most worried adults did.

"Dad, I know you're feeling guilty about the ghosts attacks that's been going through town, Vince said the ghost portal was quite a horrifying sight, but it's not like we're the ones who invented it. I'm sure we can figure out some way to shut it down" the young man told Danny and one glance at him, made Danny feel sure that he wasn't a fan of Danny's parents.

"You better not do anything rash," Danny was surprised that his voice came out as severe as he had wanted it to considering that he was past the point of terrified by the prospect of the man destroying their only way home. Danny took note of the younger man's shocked face before sliding into the passenger seat of what he guessed to be a modern Lexus

"Dad, you know what kind of danger great-grandfather's inventions can be why won't you…" the young man tried to argue as he started the car, but his words faded away under Danny's glare.

"There will be no more discussing this, do you understand?" Danny demanded, his voice strained as he watched the other man. The young man nodded and, feeling relieved, Danny finally let go of his control over Mr Statford.

Invisible and intangible, Danny retreated from the car and headed back to Fenton Works at a speed that was well past your average 120mp. Danny was back in the attack in a matter of seconds and hit the genetic open button on his way through into the familiar green atmosphere of the Ghost Zone. Suddenly, there was a lurching feeling in Danny's gut, as if he was being pulled into the Fenton Thermos, and the next thing he knew he was floating in Clockwork's tower.

"Glad to see you again, Danny," an ominous voice stated and, a few seconds later, Clockwork's ever shifting form appeared out of thin air.

"Clockwork," Danny couldn't help feeling surprised even though he'd dealt with the ghost before and had been planning to come here. "I-how come you didn't teleport me here earlier?" Danny questioned feeling slightly agitated.

"I could not interfere before now, it would not have been the right time," as Clockwork explained, he indicated for Danny to follow him as he drifted to his view screen.

"Why send me to this time, I don't understand." Danny frowned, studying the blank screen as if the answer would somehow appear there.

"You are here to take Samantha and her family back to your time," Clockwork said simply, making Danny's heart leap.

"Wha-what do you mean?" Danny stuttered, trying to suppress his hope.

"They are not supposed to be here, Danny. Their cruise ship was deposited here after an accidental trip through the Ghost Zone," Clockwork explained.

"Why not just transport them back without involving me, you can do that, right?" Danny asked even though he was glad for the chance to get to know Sam.

"Because, Danny, you and Miss Samantha would have met had it not been for the incident. I have to make sure it happens in this universe too." At this point, Danny was gapping in disbelief, if he was supposed to meet Sam, why hadn't Clockwork stopped the incident for happening in the first place. "If you don't believe me, take a look," Clockwork offered, misinterpreting Danny's expression. Danny felt almost overcome by the prospects of a different life that was now literally flashing before his eyes. "Everyone involved with you will have gotten their memories back now, just like you," Clockwork added and Danny had a sneaky suspicion that Clockwork was actually enjoying everything that was happening.

"But, why bring me here now?" Danny asked carefully, he hated how he never understood Clockwork's plans until after everything had transpired.

"You would not have been ready otherwise and Samantha was about to be forced into something that could've had dire consequences," Clockwork stated before turning to look at one of the millions of clocks hanging on the wall. "Now, you must go, get the Mansons into the Ghost Zone and I'll take care of the rest," Clockwork advised as the tugging feeling took over Danny's gut and he went flying through the Fenton Portal and almost crashed into the basement floor. Exercising the strength of his arms, Danny tried to heave his body off of the ground only to freeze when he caught sight of a shadow thrown against one of the basement walls.

"At your weakest, ghost child?" robotic voices asked from somewhere above Danny.

_Oh great, they're starting a choir, _Danny thought as his gaze turned into a glare and he spun onto his feet to face Skulktech. "What are you doing here Skulktech?" Danny still found the name to be odd on his tongue but he ignored it as he continued. "I have enough problems without you being adding to them." Danny was extremely irritated at this point and his hands started glowing with ectoplasm, almost out of their own free will. The Skulker part of the robot suddenly started laughing followed soon by his Technus half.

Danny's eyes widened in surprise and alarm, he hated it when Skulktech knew something that he didn't and his shoulder stiffened as he started scanning the room.

"Don't think so buster," an awfully familiar voice said right next to Danny's ear just as he felt to hands clamp down on his shoulders.

_Oh no!_ Danny jerked away in an effort to shake of Spectra's now glowing hands that were quickly sucking his will out of him. Unfortunately he found himself to be trapped between Skulktech and the shadow physiatrist as he tried to escape what now looked like a planned ambush. Danny's eye began to glow green as he concentrated on his new power, hoping to create a fire across his own skin, but the thought was quickly cut off as Skulktech's fist landed in Danny's stomach, making contact with his grunt.

"Na-aaah," another voice that Danny recognized as Bertrand's said and Danny felt a sting convulsing his entire body in the same horrible way that Vlad's Plasmius-Maximus had short circuited his power. As if to confirm Danny's fears, the light came, taking Danny's powers with it.

"Now, now guys, be nice." Danny was not happy when Johnny 13 suddenly decided to join in on whatever was happening here. Skulktech of course, though not pleased by the order, grinned and pulled back one last time before releasing another blow that sent Danny hitting the wall and sliding down it in a rather disturbing manner. "Don't worry, punk," Johnny whispered dangerously, pulling threateningly at Danny's hair. "We're just waiting for your girlfriend." He grinned and Danny only paled, unable to do more than groan in protest as all of the laughing ghosts disappeared through the basement ceiling. Danny closed his eyes in an effort not to throw up from the strength of Skulker's hit, sometimes he forgot how it felt not to have super healing.

Danny's blood froze over when he heard a sudden thud, the same thud he made whenever he landed on the ground. Forcing is eyes half open, Danny was disturbed to see both Sam and Tucker on the floor, though both of them looked annoyed, rather than scared or worried. Still, it soon seemed to change as his friends caught sight of him, both exclaiming his name as they jumped to their feet.

Would it be okay to pass out now?

That's probably exactly what would've happened had Danny's hero complex not decided to kick in at that moment and he forced his eye further open as he swallowed down a couple of more breaths before attempting to speak. "I thought I told you guys to stay at the house?" Danny hissed, wheezing slightly with the effort of talking.

"A simple thank you would do," Sam shot back with a roll of her eyes.

"Thank you, but that's not the point, how am I supposed to protect you now?" Danny demanded as he struggled into somewhat of a sitting position.

"We can take care of ourselves thank you very much!" Sam said, folding her arms and sticking her nose into the air. Now having memories to compare, Danny realized that this had been Sam's usual attitude when dealing with evil members of the dead. Wow, this girl really was something else. Danny managed a grin before he glared at the group of ghosts that were now slowly bearing down on them, making casual conversation as they went.

"Okay, at the count of three run and grab any weapon you can get your hands on," Danny murmured to his friends gave an almost invisible nods and Sam quickly squeezed Danny's arm reassuringly.

"One" Danny breathed low enough that the ghosts wouldn't notice.

"Two" Sam agreed, eyeing the ghosts as if she was ready to take them on with a baseball bat.

"Three" Tucker chimed in as Danny took one last examination of their situation before all three friends shot off in different directions, grabbing a weapon to suit their choice and simultaneously turning to face the enemy once again. They were going to regret that they ever messed with Team Phantom.

**You know the drill: PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE review but don't expect an update until the week after next so yeah sorry but again, PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Thanks. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Oh my soul, the last chapter! Sorry for taking so long with this but thanks to everyone who stuck by me through the air and thanks to Oak Leaf Ninja, Pheek and** **seantriana for reviewing and The Literary Lord and NouvelleLenni for adding my story to their list. I really hope that you like and enjoy this ending and that it's satisfying and everything. Here you go.**

Chapter 20: Relief and Happiness

Under normal circumstances Sam definitely would've freaked at the idea of fighting Skulktech, Johnny, Bertrand and Spectra at the same time without Danny's powers for assistance but nothing was normal anymore.

_I don't care how powerful they think they are, they are going down_, Sam thought, a small smile touching her lips when she realized how cliché that sounded. With a grunt, Sam swipped up an ecto gun and turned around to study her friends' situation. Tucker seemed to have gotten hold of a Jack-o-ninetails and was now trying, and failing, to hit Bertrand who seemed to be toying with him. Danny had clamped a Spector Deflector around his waist and he was now altering between fighting Spectra and Skulktech. _Okay, then I'll go for Johnny. I have a score to settle with him, _Sam concluded as she hefted the gun back up and shot three beams into Johnny's unsuspecting back, causing him to groan as he tumbled the few feet out of the air.

"You started this whole thing but you sure aren't finishing it," Sam spat at Johnny, moving into a fighting stance.

"Sam you need to go!" Danny huffed from somewhere off to her right. Sam glared at Johnny and shot him once more, since she couldn't turn to glare at Danny himself. "Oh no you don't, Danny. Don't expect me to run away like some helpless damsel in distress!" she hissed at him while still glaring at Johnny who was now growling at her.

"Hello miss placed aggression!" Danny's phrase from so long ago ran through her head and she smirked as Johnny advanced on her.

Unfortunately Sam only got in three more shots before Sam was sent crashing into a table courtesy of the ghost.

Ribs throbbing, Sam got back onto her feet and fired at Johnny, missing him by mere inches but still managing to hit his shadow. Sam ducked under a table and started searching for a Fenton Bazooka only to come up empty handed. Sam gasped as the table crumpled around her, to reveal a pleased looking Johnny. Sam went for the next best thing, the Fenton Thermos. As fun as it was to shoot with an ecto gun, Fenton Thermoses always made things easier. A bright white-blue light shot out, engulfing Johnny and temporarily vaporizing his bad luck shadow as well. "Sam! Throw it into the Ghost Zone!" Danny exclaimed from where he was battling Skulktech and Spectra.

Smiling in satisfaction, Sam threw the thermos as if she was throwing a baseball and it disappeared into the green layer of the Ghost Zone. Sam's victory was short lived as Sam was suddenly knocked over from behind and she groaned as the drooling dog face of Bertrand was placed next to her ear.

"Sam!" Both Tucker and Danny's alarmed exclamations managed to jar Sam out of her numbness and she felt around blindly until her trapped hands brushed against something cold and fluffy. Tensing her muscles, Sam yanked Bertrand's tail with all her might, causing her joints to crack in protest and Bertrand to roll off of her with a surprised yelp.

"You okay, Sam?" Danny yelled sounding worried but before Sam could reply, there was a cry of pain and Sam spun around, her eyes flying towards where the sound had come from to find Danny viciously being pressed against the ceiling of the basement by a grinning Skulktech.

Sam caught her breath as Skulktech suddenly howled as if he'd been stabbed and dropped Danny. Danny slammed into the floor where he lay unmoving for one terrifying minute before he got to his feet again. Sam let out a sigh of relief, it had been one of the longest minutes of Sam's life. Whipping blood from a cut on his cheek, Danny glared up at Skulktech and Spectra before shooting a quick glance towards Sam and Tucker, who both nodded in reassurance. Sam was ready for whatever Danny seemed to be planning.

"Then lets finish this," Danny offered with a sly grin as he grasped a metal device and the Fenton Peeler unfolded itself around Danny's form, making him look a lot like a knight in shining armor as he started pulling Skulktech apart with it. Danny stared challenging at Spectra and Bertrand as he pushed Skulktech's remains into the Ghost Zone before turning his full attention on the last two ghosts.

"Why don't we talk about this?" Spectra started in a bargaining voice and, without waiting for an answer, she turned around and fled to the Ghost Zone, leaving a sheepish looking Bertrand alone.

"I'll just…" he trailed off as he started dashing towards the portal in a desperate attempt to escape.

"Take that!" Tucker cried out, landing a hit on Bertrand's butt with the Fenton Lipstick before Bertrand disappeared as well. Sam stared at Tucker in shock and amusement while the techy rubbed his own backside. Tucker's hand froze on his jean pocket and he looked beyond terrified as he brought the crumpled remains of his PDA into view. "My baby!" he exclaimed, looking close to tears as he hugged the technology close to his chest.

Sam exchanged looks with Danny before both he and she burst out laughing. Sam had probably never felt so relieved in her entire life and Sam wondered how she hadn't realized that something this great was missing from her life. "This isn't funny guys!" Tucker complained, to concerned for his PDA to realize that they'd just won a battle.

"We know Tucker but, come on, we just beat four ghosts, it deserves some praise," Danny laughed and Tucker's frown soon broke into a grin as well. It felt good just laughing like that but, reality soon set in.

"So," Sam mumbled, her joy gone and her gaze travelling to the ground. "You'll have to leave soon, right?" that sobered everyone up and silence settled over the trio.

"Sam I-we…" Danny seemed to be struggling to find words but Sam was afraid that, if she looked up, she would start crying. "You don't belong here Sam, not you or your parents," he said finally and Sam was forced to look up, confused. "That's why we're here Sam, we need to…take you home," Danny was staring at the floor when Sam looked up but Sam didn't care, instead she flung her arms around her friends and pulled them into a group hug.

Sam was shaking with relief as Tucker and Danny hugged her back, not allowing the tears she felt, to fall. "Okay Sam, let's go get your parents," Danny said as he pulled away from the hug, unlocked the Spector Deflector around his waist and grabbed a Fenton Bezooka from one of the closets Sam had not been able to check when she'd been searching for it.

"So we'll just go back in time and stay with my grandma until Dad can buy a house," Sam repeated, feeling the need to make sure that she'd heard everything correctly.

"Yes Samantha, your parents are under strict orders to stick to the story. "You and your parents were stuck on a ghost infested island and only now managed to escape," Clockwork agreed and Sam had to roll her eyes. There was no way that that excuse would've work in any other place than Amity Park, but it was because it was Amity Park that they'd decided to go with that story.

"Thanks Clockwork," Sam grinned, she would be eternally grateful to him. If memory served her correctly, then she now owed him three favors for all the times he'd decided to intervene. Clockwork smiled before turning his attention towards a screen.

"Well now, I suppose I should send you and your friends home," he mused and the trio nodded eagerly, shooting quick glances at Sam's parents who had been frozen in time after everything had been explained to them (though it had taken about an hour and a half for the two older Mansons to come to terms and agree to everything). "Well then, here we go," he stated, reaching a hand into both Tucker and Danny's stomachs to extract the time medallions, causing Sam's own stomach to churn slightly at the thought. "Ah, you might want to take him while you're here," Clockwork added, gesturing to something behind the trio and the three turned around to a sight that made their jaws drop.

Standing there, just as frozen as Sam's parents, was none other than Vlad Masters himself, scowling at nothing in particular like he usually did.

"What did you do to him?" Sam snorted in an effort to keep herself from actually laughing.

"Well, I had to make sure he wouldn't take over the world in your absence," Clockwork explained with a small smile. "If he'd stayed on earth while you were away you would've been facing Vladomia the moment you went to the future," Clockwork confirmed and Danny smiled at the sight of his frozen enemy while Tucker took the liberty of tapping Vlad's head experimentally.

"Not so powerful now, is he?" Sam smirked.

"But, can't you just keep him here, he wouldn't cause any trouble if he was frozen here for all eternity?" Danny questioned, turning back to the time master. Clockwork looked suddenly tired as he studied the three teens and offered a weary smile, his gaze locking back on Danny.

Sam bit her lip, she hated the way Clockwork seemed to be thinking about all the hardships Danny had yet to endure.

"I'm afraid that he still has a too big a part to play in the future for me to permanently remove him from time," Clockwork admitted, analyzing Vlad as if he were a complicated puzzle piece. "Good luck child, may we never meet again." The words seemed to be foreshadowing and with Clockwork involved, they could very well be, Sam just hoped her gut feeling was wrong.

"See you, Clockwork," Danny said, not seeming to notice Clockwork's words as he transformed into Phantom, his powers finally returned and took hold of Vlad, Sam's father and all the luggage Sam's parents had managed to stuff into their two suitcases. Sam grimaced as she and Tucker turned around and started struggling with the task of pushing her mother towards the screen without actually tipping her over.

There was a flash of black, as if they'd entered a black tunnel… and then sunlight was shining down on the group and the alleyway in which they stood.

"Wha- how did I get here… Daniel, what are you doing holding on to me!" the obnoxious voice of Vlad Masters filled the air causing Danny to drop the mayor on his back.

"Oops, sorry Vlad," Danny said, not sounding sorry at all. Vlad looked about ready to say more before he noticed the three Mansons standing there, two of who looked completely clueless.

"Young man, when your parents here about this, you're going to be sorry!" he threatened before stalking out of the alley way and almost getting run over by a car. Team Phantom snickered before both Danny and Tucker's eyes widened in realization.

"Mom! Dad!" Tucker exclaimed as he remembered that he was back in a time where he actually had parents. With more speed than Sam thought he possessed. Tucker sprinted out of the alley way, dragging Sam's parents with him while telling them that they had to meet his parents so he, Danny and Sam could start hanging out again. Sam smiled, it looked like things would be returning to the way it was supposed to be.

Danny took a step forward, looking ready to follow Tucker's example, but he paused, looking back at Sam with unreadable eyes.

"Sam, I just wanted to say… I'm glad everything worked out," Danny said, seeing to struggle to get out the last part and Sam rolled her eyes.

_Boys,_ she thought with a small smile and a shake of her head before she stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Danny's neck and kissed him…

And it was probably the happiest the Goth had ever felt.

**READ! THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT! PLEASE!**

**I can't believe it, I'm actually done! I've waited forever to be able to press the complete button on this story and I feel really great right now. Okay so, last minute things. If and when I review, could you please tell me if you think I should do a sort of sequal to this story or not and tell me if you enjoyed this one, thanks. PL 101**


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